JPMorgan’s Blockchain Project Now Includes Over 220 Banks

As of April 22nd 2019, JPMorgan Chase has released a comprehensive list of its Interbank Information Network (IIN) partners, which totals more than 220 banks. While the current IIN infrastructure focuses on payments, near-term plans involve blockchain-powered settlements in 2019.

JPMorgan’s Interbank Information Network (IIN) Reaching 220 Banks Explained

IIN is JPMorgan’s blockchain-based network with an aim of increasing the speed of financial payments.

In 2017, the first IIN pilot was launched with Australia’s ANZ Bank and the Royal Bank of Canada. To date, its member list has now grown to more than 220 banks, throughout the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific region.

The network leverages blockchain technology to enable its members to quickly solve problematic money transfers related to compliance issues. Traditionally, such errors can take days to solve.

But now, the IIN is said to include real-time verification features to ensure that transactions are sent to valid accounts.

According to John Hunter, Head of Global Clearing for Treasury Services,

“The more banks that join the network, the more dramatic the reduction in payment delays. As the network scales, our clients’ payments will be processed faster with less operational expense.”

Suresh Shetty, the blockchain technology lead for IIN, discussed the legacy financial system that IIN plans to reform:

“Historically, correspondent banks communicate one-way, bank-to-bank, but we have transformed their interaction. When a payment detail is flagged for confirmation, different parties can interact simultaneously, requesting and sharing information.”

Instant Settlement through Distributed Ledger Technology

The IIN was built on Quorum, JPMorgan’s own Ethereum-based blockchain network. Quorum is also home to JPMorgan’s JPM Coin, which is used for faster payments and instant settlements.

In addition, the JPM Coin is said to simplify the ‘pain point’ of KYC and AML processes.

The instant settlement of transactions has attracted many large institutional giants to the digital asset space through security tokens.

Beyond JPMorgan, these also include Fidelity and NASDAQ.

IIN plans to have a live settlement system by Q3 2019.

What do you think of JPMorgan’s IIN totaling over 220 banks? What does the future of JPMorgan and DLT look like? We’d like to know what you think in the comments section below.

Image courtesy of JPMorgan.