Bank of England tests stablecoin, digital pound interoperability in cross-border payments

The Digital Pound Lab is testing a cross-border trade finance flow combining stablecoin payments with simulated digital pound settlement.

The Bank of England’s Digital Pound Lab is testing whether stablecoins and a potential digital British pound can operate within the same cross-border payment flow as part of an experiment focused on trade finance.

The experiment involves NOBO Finance, Dun & Bradstreet and Polygon Labs, with an exporter receiving an advance via a stablecoin rail while a UK importer completes settlement using simulated digital pounds, according to a Wednesday announcement from the three companies.

The project also includes a separate workstream aimed at creating reusable credit profiles for small businesses by combining transaction data, open-finance information and Dun & Bradstreet’s commercial risk data, with Polygon providing the smart contract infrastructure.