The Impact of the Transformation of Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDC)-Based Global Payments on the Financial Efficiency of Multinational Corporations (Ekonis Jurnal Ekonomi dan Bisnis)

Summary

• Global cross-border payment transactions are projected to expand from over $150 trillion in 2017 to more than $250 trillion by 2027.p.1
• Layered payment structures cause global corporations to incur cross-border transaction costs of up to $120 billion annually.p.1
• Global CBDC exploration grew from 35 countries in May 2020 to 146 countries in 2026, with 77 reaching advanced development, pilot, or launch stages.p.4
• Project m-Bridge completed over 4,000 cross-border transactions valued at approximately $55.5 billion by early 2026.p.5
• CBDC implementation is projected to shorten MNC cross-border Days Sales Outstanding from 45 days to 31 days, representing a 31% reduction.p.5
• Cross-border transaction costs for corporations are projected to decrease from 2.5% to 1.3% of transaction value, achieving a 48% savings.p.5
• MNC multi-currency preventive cash balances are projected to fall from 18% to 11% of average monthly cross-border debt, a 39% reduction.p.5

Key insights

1. CBDC-based cross-border settlement architectures eliminate intermediate correspondent banking layers, cutting transaction fees by around 50% compared to conventional payment rails.p.5
2. Transitioning cross-border payments to instant wholesale CBDC execution shifts liquidity management from multi-day processing to near real-time seconds.p.5
3. The e-CNY digital currency accounts for approximately 95 percent of total settlement volume on the multi-jurisdictional m-Bridge platform.p.4
4. Payment-versus-payment mechanisms within cross-border CBDCs reduce fund transit risks, allowing corporate treasurers to lower short-term currency hedging allocations.p.6
5. Bank Indonesia completed the wholesale w-Rupiah proof of concept under Project Garuda in December 2024 and acts as an observer on Project m-Bridge.p.6
6. The Bank for International Settlements divested from Project m-Bridge in 2024 due to regulatory and sanctions compliance concerns.p.6
7. CBDC holding limits designed to protect commercial bank deposits from disintermediation may constrain large corporate liquidity transfers.p.6