JPMorgan Chase announced that 344 banks from all over the world have already joined its blockchain network. The company’s global compensation director predicts a significant growth in the service.
A total of 37 Latin American banks currently participate in the blockchain-based interbank network developed by the American investment bank JPMorgan Chase. This information emerges from the firm’s most recent statement, released on Thursday, September 19th.
JPMorgan Chase reported that since its launch in September 2018, its blockchain-based project, known as the Interbank Information Network (IIN), has reached a total of 344 affiliated banks from different countries in the world. According to the list that is available on the firm’s official website, among its current partners there are financial institutions of global relevance, such as Deutsche Bank from Germany.
Banks from several Latin American countries such as Panama, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Bolivia, among others, have joined the network. So far, the project has aroused greater interest in Panama and Mexico, where most of the Latin American entities integrated into the network are located, with 8 and 6 respectively.
John Hunter, the global compensation director at JPMorgan Chase, said that the IIN project is pursuing to achieve the development of “a significant ecosystem of banking users.” He explained that the objective of this project is to “take advantage of emerging technologies such as blockchain to better address the complex cross-border payment industry.”
At the beginning, the IIN platform allowed banks to share information in a common access ledger in order to avoid delays due to compliance problems. This ledger system, which is based on an authorized variant of the Ethereum blockchain, was developed by Quorum. According to official information, “the IIN allows member banks to exchange information in real time, as a way to verify that a payment has been approved.”
However, in April of this year JPMorgan said that it would add local and cross-border interbank payment settlement services to compete in the digital payment sector with blockchain service providers such as Ripple, TransferWise and Revolut.
In just one year, JPMorgan Chase has seen how the Interbank Information Network has scaled and expanded in terms of its functions and capabilities. During an interview, John Hunter expresses his excitement at the growth that lies ahead of the platform. The executive explained that a total of 65 banks operate effectively in the network and the rest of the associates are in the process of integration, which will be completed before the end of the year 2021.
Between 2% and 5% of international payments could be processed by the IIN, in Hunter’s opinion. In addition, he said that JPMorgan is exploring some new applications that can be integrated into the network.
To summarize, it can be said that the most prominent banks worldwide have been incorporating the use of blockchain technology into their platforms. The fact that 37 Latin American countries have joined JPMorgan IIN indicates a significant growth in the banking ecosystem in that geographical area. It is worth mentioning that this platform allows users to share information that facilitates cross-border payment settlements.
By Willmen Blanco
