Central Bank of Paraguay Honored with Central Banking Award 2025 for Market Infrastructure Innovation
March 18, 2025
Asunción, Paraguay – March 18, 2025
The Central Bank of Paraguay (Banco Central del Paraguay – BCP) has been awarded the Central Banking Award 2025 in the category of Payment and Market Infrastructure Development, recognizing its achievements in transforming the country’s financial system and reinforcing the foundations of an efficient, resilient, and inclusive digital economy.
Presented by Central Banking magazine, this prestigious award highlights the BCP’s successful modernization of Paraguay’s Real-Time Gross Settlement (RTGS) system, built on CMA’s RTS/X platform, and the rollout of a national Instant Payment system, developed using CMA’s IPS solution. These systems enable secure, high-speed transaction processing for both financial institutions and fintechs, driving 24/7 interoperability and inclusion.
CMA’s RTS/X and IPS platforms are currently deployed in over 60 countries worldwide, including several high-volume and high-growth markets across Latin America, Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. The award recognizes BCP’s ability to adapt this proven technology to the local context while maintaining alignment with global standards.
Importantly, this is not the first time that CMA’s platforms and projects built on them have been recognized by the Central Banking Awards committee. Previous CMA-supported initiatives in other regions have also received accolades for advancing digital payments, strengthening financial resilience, and enabling inclusive innovation—further reaffirming CMA’s position as a trusted global provider of financial infrastructure.
“We are proud of this international recognition,” said a representative from BCP. “It reflects the work of our teams and partners, and strengthens our commitment to building a secure, efficient, and accessible financial infrastructure for the people of Paraguay.”
“This award is well deserved,” said Farid Abu Bakr, Regional Director for Latin America at CMA. “The Central Bank of Paraguay has demonstrated bold leadership and strategic vision in building next-generation infrastructure. We are honored that our RTS/X and IPS platforms form the backbone of this transformation, and proud to support Paraguay’s journey toward a more open, digital, and connected financial future.”
In addition to infrastructure innovation, the Central Bank has also advanced regulatory modernization, digital payments strategies, and regional dialogue on interoperability and digital currency readiness.
About the Central Banking Awards
Established in 2014, the Central Banking Awards recognize excellence in the central banking community across a range of categories including monetary policy, market infrastructure, supervision, technology, and leadership. Winners are selected by an independent panel of former central bankers, financial experts, and the Central Banking editorial team.
