Banks turn more and more towards cryptocurrency. The conversion of fiat money into crypto, the processing of information and all required documents for the transactions keep being an aggravating problem between crypto trading platforms and financial institutions. On one hand, central organizations recognize the issue as an alarming concern in their economic structures. On the other, apparently, they do not wish to miss the ‘blockchain revolution’, as some call it (link to France), and, of course, would be more than happy to make a solid profit out of it. Unfortunately, despite the ongoing crypto positivism around, all transactions still start with fiat currencies, which is to say – we are still quite dependable on the banks.
Here is how J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. decides to jump into the crypto flow and to monetize smartly the global fast-and-better transaction demand. On 16th of October last year, the financial hulk publicly announced its initiative to start using blockchain technology in the banking operations. The project was shared with two major world banks, namely the Royal Bank of Canada and Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited, with which J.P. signed a contract for the creation of the first Interbank Information Network (IIN). The initiative was presented as an inter-bank, cross-border system that would allow faster and more secure transactions. The aim was and still is, to reach beneficiaries much quicker, with fewer steps of processing information and fewer documentation requirements. The Network uses the newly launched J.P. Morgan’s token called Quorum™, a permissioned-variant of the Ethereum blockchain, developed specifically for the bank purposes. The open source mechanism provides secure data sharing and makes verification stages easier.
Now, on September 25th J.P Morgan officially declared their will to work deeply with the blockchain technology, as only a year after the introduction of the Quorum token, the bank expands IIN to 76 new banks. The institutions are the biggest financial organizations worldwide and the list includes banks from America, Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The full list of institutions could be seen on the bank’s website.
We’ve been actively exploring how emerging technologies such as blockchain, AI, and an enhanced digital experience can be deployed in our Treasury Services business to better serve our clients’ ever-changing needs. […] We will lead the market with the rollout of a robust pipeline of innovations over the coming months, beginning with the launch of IIN.
States Takis Georgakopoulos, Global Head of Treasury Services, according to the official press release. J.P. Morgan obviously shows an ambition to curb the fiat-crypto enterprise.
Emma Loftus, Head of Global Payments and Receivables at J.P. Morgan Treasury Services reveals that the process of signing a contract and finding partnership was not a corporate pain. On the contrary.
We saw tremendous interest among correspondent banks after the pilot launched in 2017, asking if they could join,
Says Mrs. Loftus and adds optimistically that,
We believe IIN will significantly improve the efficiency of cross-border payments, particularly as more banks participate and we evolve the functionality and use cases beyond compliance-related inquiries.
With this expansion, J.P. Morgan becomes a worldwide leader of a bank using a blockchain-based system. The international support the organization found proves that the financial establishment around the Globe is getting friendlier to the cryptocurrency and soon the bank operations would go even smoother.
