Sibos 2026: BNP Paribas' Bruno Mellado on the future of payment rails and tokenisation

Quick Summary

As the global financial landscape shifts towards 24/7 operations, Bruno Mellado of BNP Paribas explains at Sibos 2026 how the bank is integrating new payment rails to enhance client experiences. From buying securities to paying suppliers, the focus remains on providing treasurers with simplicity in a world of increasingly complex options.

How is Project Agora shaping the future of payment infrastructure?

Project Agora represents a significant collaborative effort where central banks, commercial banks, and network operators define the future of payment infrastructure. Bruno Mellado notes that the forum is establishing how liquidity will be transacted in a tokenised world while ensuring that current economic principles remain intact. Key achievements of the project include:

• Defining how the regulatory landscape fits with tokenisation.
• Determining how central banks and commercial banks operate alongside each other.
• Ensuring commercial bank money remains relevant for specific use cases while central bank money serves others in a 24/7 global environment.

What is required to achieve a true atomic settlement experience?

The goal of atomic settlement is to create a seamless transfer where money is either in the account of the sender or the beneficiary, with no uncertainty in between. To achieve this, Bruno Mellado highlights the importance of pre-validation. This process ensures all conditions of a transaction are met before any liquidity moves. Achieving this requires banks and institutions to transition their internal processes to 24/7 operations to support around the clock financial activity.

How will tokenisation and stablecoins coexist in the financial system?

The future financial system is expected to incorporate various technologies, including tokenised assets, tokenised cash, and liabilities from stablecoin issuers. Bruno Mellado suggests that the industry will need to evaluate these options based on several factors:

• Counterparty risk associated with different issuers.
• The cost and performance of liquidity.
• Safety aspects that are fundamental to banking institutions.

Different types of tokens will likely serve different use cases, presenting both a challenge and an opportunity to match the right payment method to specific client needs.

What role will AI play in the next generation of payments?

The industry is currently in the early stages of an AI revolution. Bruno Mellado believes the next major development will be the rise of AI agents that make payment decisions on behalf of those who hold the mandate. This shift requires a robust infrastructure to prevent fraud and protect customers. The industry must ramp up technology to ensure these agent-led transactions provide a safe and convenient experience for buyers and sellers in the future.

FF NEWS TAKE:

The transition to a tokenised, 24/7 financial system is no longer a theoretical exercise but a practical roadmap being drawn by institutions like BNP Paribas. By participating in initiatives like Project Agora, the bank is helping to bridge the gap between traditional economic principles and the efficiency of atomic settlement. The emphasis on pre-validation and the upcoming role of AI agents suggests a future where the friction of manual oversight is replaced by automated, secure, and instantaneous value exchange.