Project Jura: cross-border settlement using wholesale CBDC

Jura explores the direct transfer of euro and Swiss franc wholesale central bank digital currencies (wCBDCs) between French and Swiss commercial banks on a single DLT platform operated by a third party. Tokenised asset and foreign exchange trades are settled safely and efficiently using payment versus payment (PvP) and delivery versus payment (DvP) mechanisms. 

The experiment is conducted in a near-real setting, using real-value transactions and complying with current regulatory requirements. It is a public-private collaboration involving the Banque de France, the BIS Innovation Hub Swiss Centre, the Swiss National Bank and a private sector consortium. 

Issuing wCBDC on a third-party platform and giving non-resident financial institutions direct access to central bank money raises intricate policy issues. Jura explores a new approach including subnetworks and dual-notary signing, which may give central banks comfort to issue wCBDC on a third-party platform and to provide non-resident financial institutions with access to wCBDC. 

The project complements the ongoing G20 work on cross-border payments. The proposed solution design not only addresses existing deficiencies but could also open up new approaches to conducting international financial transactions, including foreign exchange, securities and other financial instruments.