JPMorgan’s Interbank Information Network (IIN) blockchain project received another boost on Tuesday when it added seven top Indian banks to its program, which now stretches over 350, reports The Economic Times. Some of the country’s top lenders, such as Federal Bank of India, ICICI Bank and Axis Bank, have joined forces with hundreds of other banks to join the blockchain-based network that launched in 2017 and recently added Duetsche Bank to its fold.
From 16 Days to Hours
INN was created to exploit the secure and frictionless nature of blockchain technology, providing secure exchange information to banks involved in cross-border payments, reducing costs and mitigating risks. The blockchain doesn’t at present use JPMorgan’s own cryptocurrency, JPM Coin, but with a captive market in place there will likely be incentives to using it over other currencies when it launches. Madhav Kalyan, CEO, JPMorgan Chase Bank, India, welcomed the addition of the banks to the platform:
We are encouraged by the huge interest from the seven major banks in India to join our IIN initiative. As we look to address the challenges banks face in cross-border payments pertaining to friction points caused by multiple hops through the payment chain when further information is required. With IIN, the time taken to resolve these inquiries can be reduced from up to 16 days to mere hours.
JPMorgan Leaves Ripple for Dust
JPMorgan boss Jamie Dimon has been a noted fan of blockchain technology for some years, which has manifested itself in the swift development and adoption of their blockchain. John Hunter, Global Head of Clearing for JPMorgan Chase, summed up the benefits of the system and why so many banks are hopping aboard:
The intent with IIN was always to develop a meaningful ecosystem of bank users, all focused on harnessing emerging technologies such as blockchain to better address the complex cross
border payments industry.
This summary could be almost word for word the mission statement of Ripple and the XRP token, whose army of supporters must be looking at JPMorgan’s recent clientele explosion with a sense of envy and concern as they see IIN scooping up more of their customer base with every passing week.
