The Bank for International Settlements Innovation Hub published a report on Project Promissa, a completed proof of concept to digitise and tokenise paper-based promissory notes used by member countries to fund multilateral development banks and other international financial institutions. Delivered by the BIS Innovation Hub Swiss Centre with the Swiss National Bank and the World Bank, with the International Monetary Fund as an observer, the prototype uses distributed ledger technology to provide a single source of truth for counterparties across the notes’ lifecycles while preserving confidentiality and sovereignty over ownership, control and decision-making. The design would allow member governments and their designated central bank custodians to see outstanding notes across different institutions, while giving international financial institutions uniform visibility of notes held by different central banks, addressing operational challenges in paper-based custody where volumes are significant, including for the World Bank’s International Bank for Reconstruction and Development and International Development Association.

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