Wholesale settlement network comparison matrix — Fnality / Partior / JPM Kinexys / mBridge / Agorá / Mariana

Wiki route

This entry sits under fintech index as the six-way side-by-side comparison matrix for the most-cited wholesale settlement networks. It complements the per-network deep dives at Fnality fnPS, Partior, JPM Onyx / Kinexys, mBridge, and BIS Project Agorá. For the governance pattern see multi-bank federation governance; for the central-banking-unbundling context see central-banking function unbundling; for the interoperability story with stablecoins see Circle USDC and JPMorgan JPMD.

[!info] TL;DR The six initiatives do not share one maturity or legal category. Fnality £FnPS made pilot payments in December 2023 and began operating under Bank of England limits in December 2024. Partior is a private, permissioned commercial clearing-and-settlement network whose public materials identify USD, EUR and SGD commercial flows. Kinexys by J.P. Morgan reported more than $1.5T processed since inception and more than $2B in average daily volume in November 2024. mBridge reached MVP in mid-2024, after which the BIS handed the project to its central-bank partners in October 2024. Project Agorá delivered a prototype—not a finished product—in May 2026 with eight central banks and more than 40 financial institutions. Project Mariana was a research proof of concept completed in 2023. Comparisons should therefore separate settlement asset, operator, production status and disclosed volume rather than rank all six as equivalent live networks. ^[Fnality: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/report/2024/rtgs-and-chaps-annual-report-2023-24 and https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability/financial-market-infrastructure-supervision/report/fmi-annual-report-2025-26; Partior: https://partior.com/about-us/our-story; Kinexys: https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/payments/blockchain-digital-assets/introducing-kinexys; mBridge: https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mcbdc_bridge.htm; Agorá: https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/fmis/agora.htm; Mariana: https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mariana.htm]

Why a six-way comparison

Single-network narratives (“Fnality is the consortium model,” “Kinexys is the single-bank model”) capture different parts of the story but obscure the central structural variable: what settlement asset or claim is being transferred. Placing the initiatives side-by-side on settlement asset, operator, maturity, disclosed currencies and volume helps distinguish regulated infrastructure from bank products and research prototypes. The public evidence does not support treating every row as a production network or inferring a single speed ranking from consortium size. For the broader institutional-stablecoin-deposit-token contrast see institutional stablecoin vs tokenised-deposit thesis. ^[Status sources: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability/financial-market-infrastructure-supervision/report/fmi-annual-report-2025-26; https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mcbdc_bridge.htm; https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/fmis/agora.htm]

Matrix A · Settlement asset and finality

Table evidence: Bank of England on £FnPS (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability/financial-market-infrastructure-supervision/report/fmi-annual-report-2025-26), Partior’s official history (https://partior.com/about-us/our-story), J.P. Morgan’s Kinexys overview (https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/payments/blockchain-digital-assets/introducing-kinexys), and the BIS project pages for mBridge, Agorá and Mariana (https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mcbdc_bridge.htm; https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/fmis/agora.htm; https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mariana.htm).

The central distinction is the legal claim represented by the settlement asset: Fnality uses funds held through a central-bank omnibus account; mBridge experiments with wholesale CBDCs; Partior and Kinexys operate through commercial-bank-money arrangements; Agorá combines tokenised central-bank reserves and commercial-bank deposits in a prototype; and Mariana tested wCBDC/AMM mechanics. The legal and operational consequences must be assessed from each system’s rules and jurisdiction rather than inferred from a simple M0/M1 label.

Matrix B · Consortium membership

Table evidence: Partior identifies four founding shareholders (https://partior.com/about-us/our-story); BIS identifies the five mBridge central-bank participants and the Agorá / Mariana participant shapes (https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mcbdc_bridge.htm; https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/fmis/agora.htm; https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mariana.htm). Exact client or network-member totals not published in these sources are not used.

Membership counts describe governance breadth, but they do not prove a decision-speed ordering. Kinexys is operated within one banking group, Partior has four founding shareholders, Fnality has a multi-shareholder base, and mBridge / Agorá coordinate public authorities. Their timelines also reflect different legal, settlement-asset and project-scope requirements.

Matrix C · Disclosed currency scope

Table evidence: Partior’s official history identifies USD, EUR and SGD commercial flows (https://partior.com/about-us/our-story); the Bank of England identifies the sterling £FnPS (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability/financial-market-infrastructure-supervision/report/fmi-annual-report-2025-26); BIS identifies the mBridge participants and Mariana’s hypothetical currencies (https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mcbdc_bridge.htm; https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mariana.htm). Agorá is a prototype, not a production currency list (https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/fmis/agora.htm).

The disclosed currency sets are not directly comparable: Partior identifies USD, EUR and SGD commercial flows; Fnality currently operates a sterling system under limits; mBridge’s currencies follow participating central banks; and Agorá / Mariana are prototype or research programmes rather than production currency networks. ^[Partior: https://partior.com/about-us/our-story and https://partior.com/news-and-insights/nh-nonghyup-bank-pilots-blockchain-based-cross-border-payments-with-partior; Fnality: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability/financial-market-infrastructure-supervision/report/fmi-annual-report-2025-26]

Matrix D · Publicly disclosed volume and cumulative scale

Table evidence: J.P. Morgan’s November 2024 Kinexys announcement is the only reviewed source here that gives both an average daily value and a since-inception value (https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/payments/blockchain-digital-assets/introducing-kinexys). The Bank of England and BIS status pages do not provide comparable volume series (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability/financial-market-infrastructure-supervision/report/fmi-annual-report-2025-26; https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mcbdc_bridge.htm; https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/fmis/agora.htm; https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mariana.htm).

Kinexys is the only row in this comparison for which the reviewed official source publishes both a daily average and a since-inception value. The absence of comparable official values for the other rows means this table cannot support a cross-network volume ranking. ^[https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/payments/blockchain-digital-assets/introducing-kinexys]

Matrix E · Regulatory status and central-bank backing

Table evidence: Bank of England lists £FnPS as a supervised recognised payment system operating under limits (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability/financial-market-infrastructure-supervision/report/fmi-annual-report-2025-26); Partior describes an independent institutional network (https://partior.com/about-us/our-story); J.P. Morgan describes Kinexys as its own platform (https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/payments/blockchain-digital-assets/introducing-kinexys); BIS describes the status of mBridge, Agorá and Mariana (https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mcbdc_bridge.htm; https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/fmis/agora.htm; https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mariana.htm).

The regulatory categories are not binary. Fnality is a recognised and supervised payment system operating under limits; Kinexys sits within J.P. Morgan’s banking perimeter; Partior is commercial infrastructure used by regulated financial institutions; mBridge is a central-bank MVP; and Agorá / Mariana are research prototypes. A platform’s technology label does not establish its legal finality or licensing status. ^[Fnality status: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability/financial-market-infrastructure-supervision/report/fmi-annual-report-2025-26; project status: https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mcbdc_bridge.htm and https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/fmis/agora.htm]

Matrix F · Technology stack

The reviewed systems use controlled-access infrastructure, but their published materials do not expose a uniform level of technical detail. Agorá is a prototype involving eight central banks and more than 40 financial institutions; its official result should not be read as a commitment to one production stack. Technology comparisons must therefore distinguish verified implementation disclosures from roadmap or inference.

Matrix G · Cross-border PvP / DvP capability

Table evidence: Partior states that its unified ledger offers atomic finality across tokenised instruments (https://partior.com/about-us/our-story); BIS describes mBridge’s cross-border payment / FX scope, Agorá’s atomic multi-currency prototype, and Mariana’s hypothetical wCBDC spot-FX PoC (https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mcbdc_bridge.htm; https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/fmis/agora.htm; https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mariana.htm). The reviewed Bank of England source confirms £FnPS status but not a dated U.S.-dollar PvP launch (https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability/financial-market-infrastructure-supervision/report/fmi-annual-report-2025-26).

PvP and atomic settlement are common design goals, but production status differs. Partior discloses commercial flows, Fnality operates its sterling system under limits, mBridge is an MVP whose real-value use depends on jurisdictional readiness, Agorá delivered a prototype, and Mariana completed a PoC. The reviewed sources do not establish that Mariana directly determined the architectures of Agorá or mBridge.

Matrix H · Interoperability with stablecoins / tokenized assets

Agorá’s official prototype scope is narrower than the prior claim: it tests tokenised commercial-bank deposits and central-bank reserves on a shared programmable arrangement. Any future role as a stablecoin interoperability layer is an analytical possibility, not a delivered capability or stated MRA-dependent roadmap. ^[https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/fmis/agora.htm]

Matrix I · Strategic position relative to SWIFT

Table evidence: SWIFT and Fnality published a collaboration (https://www.swift.com/news-events/news/swift-fnality-collaboration); Partior describes its own unified-ledger model (https://partior.com/about-us/our-story); BIS describes mBridge, Agorá and Mariana without characterising them as projects created to bypass SWIFT (https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mcbdc_bridge.htm; https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/fmis/agora.htm; https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mariana.htm).

The evidence supports only a limited conclusion: new settlement platforms may change how messaging, correspondent relationships and settlement interact, while SWIFT and Fnality have also demonstrated that incumbent messaging and tokenised settlement can be complementary. The reviewed sources do not support a universal replacement ranking or a political “bypass SWIFT” purpose for mBridge.

Why these dimensions

The nine matrix axes (settlement asset, consortium membership, disclosed currency scope, public volume, regulatory status, central-bank relationship, interoperability with stablecoins, technology stack, SWIFT relationship) were chosen because they expose different evidence dimensions in wholesale settlement adoption:

1. Settlement asset — identifies the legal claim being transferred and the finality questions that still require system- and jurisdiction-specific analysis.
2. Consortium membership — describes operator and governance breadth without establishing a decision-speed ranking.
3. Disclosed currency scope — records the currencies supported or tested in the reviewed public materials.
4. Public volume — provides one adoption indicator where comparable official data exist.
5. Regulatory status — records the disclosed legal and supervisory perimeter without treating every category as equivalent.
6. Central-bank relationship — distinguishes use of central-bank accounts, central-bank participation and research sponsorship.
7. Interoperability — records verified connections or tests with other payment, token and asset networks.
8. Technology stack — records disclosed implementation choices and avoids filling gaps with inference.
9. SWIFT relationship — distinguishes documented collaboration from unsupported replacement claims.

These nine dimensions show why the six rows are not substitutes: Fnality is supervised sterling infrastructure backed through a central-bank omnibus account; Kinexys is a bank-operated platform with disclosed production volume; Partior is a multi-bank commercial network; mBridge is a central-bank MVP; and Agorá / Mariana are prototypes. The matrix is a classification aid, not evidence for a universal ranking.

Reading the matrix

• Fnality, Kinexys, mBridge and Partior represent different settlement arrangements. They are often grouped under “wholesale settlement”, but their settlement claims, operators, legal perimeters and maturity differ and should be assessed separately.
• Different timelines do not isolate one cause. Fnality and Kinexys differ in operator, legal perimeter, settlement asset and scope, so their elapsed time and volume cannot be attributed solely to shareholder count.
• The BIS handover of mBridge occurred in October 2024, not October 2025. The BIS stated that the project had reached a stage where the partners could carry it forward and explicitly rejected failure or political considerations as the reason. The official material does not identify a PBoC-only operational lead. ^[https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mcbdc_bridge.htm; https://www.bis.org/speeches/sp241031.htm]
• Project Mariana’s 2023 PoC demonstrated cross-border trading and immediate settlement of hypothetical wCBDCs through an AMM. The reviewed BIS pages do not establish that Mariana determined the architectures of Agorá or mBridge.
• Stablecoin interoperability remains a scenario, not an Agorá result. The official Agorá prototype combines tokenised commercial-bank deposits and central-bank reserves; extending that design to stablecoins would require additional legal, governance and technical work.
• SWIFT × Fnality is evidence that incumbent messaging and tokenised settlement can connect. It does not establish one universal industry strategy.
• Operator shape is one governance variable, not a speed score. Multi-shareholder, single-bank and central-bank projects also differ in legal perimeter, settlement asset and mandate.

Related

• Wiki Index
• Fintech Index
• Fnality fnPS
• Partior JPM / DBS / StanChart / Temasek consortium
• JPM Onyx / Kinexys
• JPMorgan JPMD
• mBridge BIS multi-CBDC bridge
• BIS Project Agorá
• Multi-bank federation governance
• 5 layers of central-banking function unbundling
• Institutional stablecoin vs tokenised-deposit thesis
• Tokenised-deposit cumulative volume
• CBDC multi-tier architecture overview
• US/EU/Japan stablecoin market-access comparison
• BlackRock BUIDL
• Circle USDC

Sources

• Fnality International public materials: https://www.fnality.org/
• Bank of England — first pilot payments (Dec. 2023): https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/report/2024/rtgs-and-chaps-annual-report-2023-24
• Bank of England — £FnPS operation under limits from Dec. 2024: https://www.bankofengland.co.uk/financial-stability/financial-market-infrastructure-supervision/report/fmi-annual-report-2025-26
• Partior public materials: https://www.partior.com/
• MAS — Partior launch announcement (2021): https://www.mas.gov.sg/news/media-releases/2021/partior-launch
• JPMorgan — Introducing Kinexys, including disclosed volume: https://www.jpmorgan.com/insights/payments/blockchain-digital-assets/introducing-kinexys
• BIS — Project mBridge MVP and October 2024 handover: https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mcbdc_bridge.htm
• BIS — Project Agorá prototype (May 2026): https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/fmis/agora.htm
• BIS — Project Mariana: https://www.bis.org/about/bisih/topics/cbdc/mariana.htm
• SWIFT × Fnality collaboration announcement (2024-Q4): https://www.swift.com/news-events/news/swift-fnality-collaboration