Singapore’s BLOOM Adds Malaysian and Thai Central Banks, but MAS Names No Token

Malaysia’s and Thailand’s central banks have joined BLOOM as policymaker members, the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced on Oct. 23, widening a program meant to let banks and payment firms settle cross-border deals in regulated stablecoins and tokenized deposits. The addition turns a program run solely by MAS into one with three central bank members. Their joint work will cover how institutions in different countries accept and settle different forms of digital money, how separate token networks connect, and checks that run inside the transaction itself, such as sanctions screening and transaction controls. MAS said in its release that BLOOM aims to “reduce the need for financial institutions to establish separate arrangements with each counterparty or market.” Leong Sing Chiong, deputy managing director at MAS, said in the release…