JPMorgan adds Singapore dollar to blockchain network for 24/7 corporate payments
Kinexys will allow on-chain foreign exchange with six other major currencies
[SINGAPORE] JPMorgan Chase’s blockchain unit is adding the Singapore dollar to its global deposit network as the bank expands its tokenised deposit efforts.
Tokenised deposits are digital coins that represent traditional bank money on a blockchain. They differ from stablecoins in that they are issued by regulated commercial banks, instead of private companies.
JPMorgan’s digital payments unit, Kinexys, will now allow financial institutions and multinational corporations to execute 24/7 on-chain foreign exchange between the Singdollar and six other major currencies, including the US dollar and the euro.
Max Neukirchen, global co-head of JPMorgan Payments, said that the move frees companies operating in Singapore from the constraints of traditional market closures, letting them shift liquidity across borders 24/7.
“They can hold smaller buffers and reduce working-capital needs,” he said in an interview with The Business Times on Thursday (Jun 25).
This comes as the bank bets on tokenised deposits as the future of corporate and institutional digital payments, rather than stablecoins. Stablecoins – backed directly by fiat currency – are used more as a hedge against volatility than for payments and liquidity management.
Tokenised deposits also offer programmability, allowing users to automate money movement when balances cross specific thresholds.
Neukirchen explained that treasury teams, which are often thinly staffed, can essentially replace manual tasks with code.
JPMorgan said that Kinexys has “processed over US$4 trillion in transaction volume, with average daily transactions exceeding US$7 billion” since its inception.
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While that may be an impressive milestone for a blockchain platform like Kinexys, it represents less than 0.06 per cent of the bank’s US$12 trillion in daily traditional fiat payment volumes.
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