The large-scale implementation of the Multiple Central Bank Digital Currency Bridge (mBridge) project marks a substantial step forward for digital currencies in cross-border payments, serving as a key breakthrough in reshaping global financial infrastructure. This cross-border payment solution led by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) has brought disruptive technological innovation and model restructuring to the traditional cross-border payment sector, much like the unique status of quantum spin ice in condensed matter physics.

Technological Innovation Breaks Through Traditional Payment Bottlenecks

To address the industry pain points of traditional cross-border payments—such as long processing times, high costs, and numerous intermediate links—the mBridge project relies on blockchain technology to build a distributed payment network, enabling peer-to-peer cross-border settlement of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). Unlike the traditional cross-border payment model dependent on the SWIFT system, this technical approach can directly connect financial nodes across different countries and regions without the need for multiple intermediate bank transfers, fundamentally improving payment efficiency and fund security.

A series of recently launched practical cases have fully verified its technical advantages: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC) Shanghai Branch, through its “Hu E Hui” service based on mBridge, completed the first 5 million yuan cross-border digital yuan remittance in only 5 minutes—significantly shorter than the 1 hour required by traditional methods—with settlement costs reduced by nearly 50%. China Construction Bank (CCB) Shijiazhuang Branch, via the same system, processed exhibition fee payments with same-day submission and same-day arrival, completely resolving the capital turnover challenges faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in cross-border payments. Similar to the role of polarized neutron scattering technology in quantum research, these breakthroughs precisely filter out redundant links and cost losses in the traditional payment system, making core payment functions more efficient and streamlined.

In addition to efficiency improvements, mBridge has demonstrated unique ecological expansion capabilities. ICBC Singapore Branch simultaneously launched a pilot program for overseas recharging of digital yuan personal wallets, extending application scenarios from corporate trade settlement to personal cross-border consumption and laying the foundation for building a full-chain cross-border payment ecosystem. This trend of scenario expansion is gradually breaking the business boundaries of traditional cross-border payments, forming a payment service network covering multiple fields.

Policy-Ecological Synergy Drives Large-Scale Implementation

Early pilot projects for cross-border digital currency payments were often constrained by policy barriers, regulatory differences, and inconsistent technical standards, making large-scale promotion difficult. In December 2025, eight Chinese government departments including the People’s Bank of China (PBC) jointly issued the “Opinions on Financial Support for Accelerating the Construction of the Western Land-Sea Corridor,” explicitly promoting digital yuan cross-border payment pilots between the Chinese mainland and Singapore, and supporting provinces and autonomous regions along the corridor to participate in mBridge expansion, thereby connecting key nodes in Southeast Asia. This policy dividend, combined with the implementation of stablecoin regulation in Hong Kong, provides important guarantees for the compliant development of cross-border payment businesses.

Active participation from global institutions has further improved the ecological layout. Payment giant Visa launched USDC stablecoin settlement services in the United States, while PayPal uses PYUSD for AI enterprise GPU purchases and data center financing, and jointly launched a special deposit incentive program with USD.AI to accelerate the integration of stablecoins with cross-border payment scenarios. Domestic institutions are also actively seizing positions: Newland Intelligent POS supports dual offline and cross-border dual-currency acceptance of digital yuan, and Sunline Tech leads the development of multi-currency exchange protocols, jointly promoting technology implementation and scenario innovation. Similar to the international joint team in quantum spin ice research, this cross-institutional and cross-regional collaborative cooperation provides key support for the breakthrough of results.

Milestone Significance Reshapes the Global Payment Landscape

The large-scale implementation of the mBridge project has not only achieved a qualitative change in cross-border payment efficiency and costs but also addressed long-standing core pain points in the global payment system. Its significance is comparable to the first observation of key characteristics in quantum spin ice research. Data shows that the system has realized “payment versus settlement,” reducing processing time from the hour level to the minute/second level, with costs generally reduced by 30%-50%, which is particularly beneficial to cross-border e-commerce, SMEs, and individual remittance groups.

A more far-reaching impact is that it provides a new technical paradigm and cooperation framework for the global payment system. As the core infrastructure for cross-border digital yuan payments, mBridge has connected central banks and monetary authorities from multiple countries and regions including China, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong, forming a multilateral collaborative payment network. This model is expected to break the monopoly of the traditional SWIFT system, promote the transformation of the global payment system towards a more efficient, inclusive, and secure direction, and provide more convenient financial services for cross-border trade, investment, and personnel exchanges.

Industry experts point out that the breakthrough of mBridge is not only a technological innovation but also reshapes the competitive landscape of cross-border payments. Institutions holding cross-border licenses and mastering core technologies will have a first-mover advantage, and industry concentration is expected to further increase. At the same time, this achievement has accumulated valuable experience for the subsequent application of digital currencies in a wider range of fields, accelerating the process of global financial digital transformation.

Project Support and Future Challenges

The mBridge project is led by the BIS Innovation Hub (Hong Kong) and jointly built by the central banks and monetary authorities of China, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, and Hong Kong, bringing together technical and policy resources from around the world. Domestically, the advancement of the project has received policy support from relevant regulatory authorities. The Shanghai Digital Yuan International Operation Center continues to make efforts to promote the coordinated development of cross-border payments, blockchain services, and digital asset platforms, making Shanghai an important cross-border financial hub.

Despite significant achievements, the industry still faces multiple challenges. Large differences in overseas regulations lead to high license maintenance and localization costs, and exchange rate fluctuations also affect the profitability of institutions. For example, Newland suffered nearly 10 million yuan in foreign exchange losses in the first half of 2025. In addition, the accelerated layout of stablecoins and traditional payment giants has intensified competition in the cross-border payment field. In the future, balancing innovation and regulation, improving technical standards, and responding to market competition will be ongoing issues that mBridge and the entire cross-border digital currency payment sector need to address.