JPMorgan and Visa Team Up on Blockchains To Make International Payments Easier

JPMorgan and Visa, two of the biggest names in traditional finance, are to link up their private blockchains to simplify payments between nations.

Currently, international transactions are made through correspondent banks operating in differing time zones and with different currencies, using the SWIFT financial messaging system. 

But JPMorgan has announced that it is launching a rival product, Confirm, which will serve to confirm the authenticity of transacting parties for its cross-border payment blockchain, Liink.

Launched in 2017 as Interbank Information Network, Liink is offered through Onyx, the blockchain and payments infrastructure department of J.P. Morgan.

According to the financial institution, account information errors account for 66% of payment failures annually, costing the global economy up to $118 billion a year. 

While Confirm is expected to improve matters, it will also deal with fraud by confirming identities of intended recipients as the owners of the accounts to which funds are being transferred.

At peak, Onyx says Confirm will be able to validate over two billion accounts across 3,500 financial institutions.

Deutsche Bank becomes founding member to aid expansion

Global payments giant Visa announced that it would be using Confirm to authorize account information for its own cross-border payments blockchain, B2B Connect, which is optimized for financial institutions and its corporate clients.

Meanwhile, Germany’s Deutsche Bank confirmed that it has also joined a founding member of Confirm to help in its strategic expansion.

“Confirm’s growth is heavily influenced by network effects,” said global head of Confirm Alex Littleton, “Naming Deutsche Bank as a founding member, while also establishing interconnectivity to Visa B2B’s blockchain, will accelerate our adoption on a global scale.”

JPMorgan ramps up Web3 hiring

The development is the latest move by traditional financial firms to move into the Web3 ecosystem.

Last month, JPMorgan advertised for a senior Web3-focused position that would concentrate on payments. And last week, Visa expanded its partnership with FTX for the cryptocurrency exchange to offer crypto-backed debit cards across Latin America, Europe, and Asia.