What specific pilot projects have central banks or the BIS run to test quantum‑safe payments since 2023?
Executive summary
Since 2023, central banks and the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) have run a small but consequential set of pilots to test “quantum‑safe” payments, most notably the BIS Innovation Hub’s Project Leap (Phase 1 and Phase 2) and related BIS research streams addressing CBDC privacy and cryptographic migration; industry and national regulators have run complementary trials such as cross‑border quantum‑safe transactions and quantum key distribution pilots with commercial banks (Bank for International Settlements; national central banks) [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]. These initiatives are framed as technical experiments and road‑mapping exercises to prove feasibility, build inventories and prepare governance for a multi‑year migration to post‑quantum cryptography [1] [6] [2].
1. Project Leap — Phase 1: central bank IT systems bridged with PQC
Project Leap Phase 1 was a technical experiment led by the BIS Innovation Hub in partnership with the Bank of France and Deutsche Bundesbank that tested implementation of post‑quantum cryptography (PQC) between two central bank IT systems, proving that a chain of trust and PQC handshake could be established in central‑bank grade environments (BIS Project Leap description; Bundesbank summary) [1] [3].
2. Project Leap — Phase 2: PQC tested inside an operational payment rail
Building on Phase 1, Project Leap Phase 2 expanded the test to an operational payment system: the BIS Innovation Hub Eurosystem Centre worked with the Bank of Italy, Bank of France, Deutsche Bundesbank, Nexi‑Colt and SWIFT to trial post‑quantum cryptography inside live payment messaging infrastructure, demonstrating PQC integration in a payments ecosystem rather than only point‑to‑point central bank links (BIS public note; Central Banking reporting) [2] [7].
3. BIS research programs and related CBDC pilots (Tourbillon and roadmap work)
Alongside Leap, the BIS has published roadmap material and undertaken research projects—often labelled in BIS literature as Project Tourbillon and broader “quantum‑readiness” work—examining privacy, security and scalability issues for CBDCs and mapping a migration path to quantum‑resistant systems; these documents serve as institutional pilots in the sense of scenario testing and guidance for central banks worldwide (BIS roadmap / papers and academic syntheses) [6] [8].
4. National and industry pilots that intersect with central bank priorities
Separately, national authorities and banks ran pilots that intersect central banks’ concerns: reporting credits a 2023 cross‑border transaction using quantum‑safe cryptography involving the Banque de France and the Monetary Authority of Singapore, and Singapore’s MAS has run QKD trials with HSBC, DBS, OCBC, UOB and telecom partners to explore quantum‑secure links for FX and interbank communications—these experiments are primarily industry‑led but directly relevant to monetary authorities’ migration planning (International Banker; FinTechFutures; PostQuantum industry reporting) [4] [5] [9].
5. What these pilots proved, and what remains unresolved
The pilots have established technical viability: PQC can be integrated into central bank systems and payment rails, and quantum key distribution (QKD) can secure point‑to‑point transactions, while BIS roadmaps highlight operational, governance and inventory tasks that remain (BIS Project Leap findings; BIS papers) [1] [2] [6]. However, coverage across sources shows clear gaps: interoperability across heterogeneous real‑world systems, performance and HSM integration, ecosystem governance, standards alignment and large‑scale migration sequencing are still open challenges that the pilots flagged but did not fully resolve (BIS commentary; industry analysis) [2] [10] [11]. Reporting also stresses that many bank pilots are private and vendor‑led, meaning central banks are relying on a mix of public experiment and commercial demonstrations to build readiness (industry syntheses) [10] [12].
6. Stakes, agendas and alternative views
Central banks and the BIS present these pilots as risk‑mitigation and preparedness work essential for financial stability, which aligns with a prudential agenda to avoid a “harvest‑now, decrypt‑later” threat to long‑lived financial records (BIS and central bank statements) [3] [1]. Industry actors—banks, vendors and telecoms—frame pilots both as security necessities and business opportunities (PostQuantum, InternationalBanker coverage) [9] [4]. Independent analyses warn that despite promising experiments, timelines for real quantum risk remain debated and that premature lock‑in to specific PQC choices or siloed vendor solutions could create future interoperability headaches (BIS roadmap; industry cautions) [6] [10].
Exact program names and public outcomes documented in the reporting since 2023 therefore centre on Project Leap Phase 1 and Phase 2 (BIS and partner central banks), BIS research projects such as Tourbillon and roadmap publications, and national/industry pilots including the Banque de France–MAS quantum‑safe transaction and MAS‑led QKD trials with local banks—while many other corporate and bank pilots exist, they are often reported by industry rather than as coordinated central bank initiatives [1] [2] [6] [4] [5] [9]. Where the sources do not provide full experimental data or timelines, this account does not speculate beyond what those sources report.