The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has introduced Project Agorá, a prototype designed to revolutionize wholesale cross-border payments by enabling transactions to settle in mere seconds. This innovative system enhances transparency by allowing all parties involved in a transaction to access real-time payment status, while also ensuring privacy from non-participating entities. The BIS noted that in the future, this visibility could be extended to end users, such as debtors and creditors. Key central banks participating in this initiative include the Banque de France, which represents the Eurosystem, the Bank of Japan, the Bank of Korea, the Bank of Mexico, the Swiss National Bank, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the Bank of England. Recently, the Bank of England proposed extending settlement hours for its Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) and Clearing House Automated Payment System (CHAPS) to support nearly continuous settlement. Deputy Governor Sarah Breeden highlighted that shared ledgers and tokenization could streamline payments, making them faster and less expensive by reducing the need for intermediaries. As of now, the BIS has not disclosed specific timelines for implementation or governance plans for Project Agorá.