Payments Canada, the Bank of Canada and TMX Group on Tuesday announced a new collaboration to experiment with an integrated securities and payment settlement platform based on distributed ledger technology (DLT) as part of the third phase of the Project Jasper research initiative.
Building on previous Jasper work, this phase of the project will develop a proof of concept for the clearing and settlement of securities using the central bank cash-on-ledger model. This platform would seek to discover greater speed and efficiency by automating the securities settlement process.
Project Jasper was launched in March 2016 to better understand how DLT could transform the future of payments in Canada. In the first two phases, the project focused on exploring the clearing and settlement of high-value interbank payments using DLT.
In close partnership with the Bank of Canada and Payments Canada, TMX Group is working to explore an integrated securities and payment infrastructure, identifying opportunities and potential efficiencies within the end-to-end securities settlement process.
“Our involvement in this effort to explore potential ways to modernize the securities settlement process is a good example of how the Bank of Canada promotes the efficiency and stability of the financial system,” said Senior Deputy Governor Carolyn A. Wilkins. “A better settlement process would not only reduce the cost of securities transactions, but also support financial system resiliency, especially in periods of stress, through faster settlement times and reduced settlement risk.”
