Malaysia and Thailand have officially joined Singapore’s BLOOM initiative, a public-private effort aimed at advancing cross-border payments using stablecoins and tokenized deposits. The central banks of both countries, Bank Negara Malaysia and the Bank of Thailand, became policymaker members of BLOOM on Friday. The initiative, launched by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) in October 2025, seeks to streamline financial transactions by reducing the need for institutions to establish individual arrangements with each counterparty.
BLOOM builds on Project Orchid, which began in 2021 to explore the potential of a digital Singapore dollar. The initiative covers various applications, including corporate cash management, trade finance, and payments executed by AI agents within predefined limits. Key participants in BLOOM include financial institutions like Airwallex, Mastercard, Ripple, Visa, and the World Bank Group.
Bank Negara Malaysia had previously announced in February that it would test ringgit stablecoins and tokenized deposits for both domestic and cross-border wholesale payments in 2026. This move aligns with the broader goals of BLOOM to enhance efficiency and reduce costs in cross-border transactions.