JPMorgan has announced the launch of a new payment processing network that will be centred upon blockchain technology.
Enhanced efficiency and security are attributes that JPMorgan are intending for the new network, working alongside the likes of Royal Bank of Canada.
This initiative is also intended to improve cross-border transactions, a target area of other harnessing distributed ledger technology, with the goal of being able to conduct these transactions in real time.
Emma Loftus, head of global payments and foreign exchange at J.P. Morgan Treasury Services, said: “Blockchain capabilities have allowed us to rethink how critical information can be sourced and exchanged between global banks.”
Alongside the likes of Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan has been a driving force behind blockchain development, having been involved in major collaborations aiming to endorse blockchain use cases. For example, JPMorgan has been a part of the Enterprise Ethereum Alliance.
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IBM is another major organisation that is pioneering blockchain development, also recently announcing a blockchain project targeting the improvement of international payment efficiency.
While JPMorgan is eager to work with and further blockchain technology, the company’s CEO, Jamie Dimon, recently launched a withering attack on bitcoin and cryptocurrency more generally. He took the stance that governments will ultimately ban them due to fraudulent activity.
Dimon’s comments come as the Chinese and South Korean governments placed restrictions on cryptocurrency. The opinion of the JPMorgan CEO appears not to have influenced his feelings on blockchain, with the company continuing to boldly pursue its use cases.
A significant step forward in the development of distributed ledger technology was made recently by R3, another major blockchain player. This initiative will use smart contracts for direct transactions, in addition to the bolstering and enhancement of security features. R3 has amassed a consortium of over 100 members in the pursuit of blockchain adcvancement.
