JPMorgan and Indian Banks to Test Blockchain-based Settlements
JPMorgan Chase & Co., the leading global financial services firm, has unveiled a groundbreaking partnership with six prominent banks in India to deploy a pioneering blockchain-based solution for streamlining interbank dollar transactions in India's emerging international financial hub.
Kaustubh Kulkarni, the Senior Country Officer for India and Vice Chairman for the Asia Pacific at JPMorgan, offered insights into this initiative during a recent discussion. "We are launching a pilot project over the next few months to gain a deeper understanding of the banks’ experience," he noted. This collaborative venture comprises renowned private lenders such as HDFC Bank Ltd., ICICI Bank Ltd., Axis Bank Ltd., Yes Bank Ltd., and IndusInd Bank Ltd., and includes JPMorgan's dedicated banking arm at GIFT City.
This strategy seeks to significantly bolster New Delhi's efforts to establish the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, also known as GIFT City, as a world-class trading hub, rivaling the likes of Dubai and Singapore. Moreover, the Reserve Bank of India has already spearheaded a domestic non-deliverable forward market settled in dollars within GIFT City.
Currently, the transaction settlement process can span several hours, with no provisions for settlements during weekends or on public holidays. The deployment of this innovative, real-time blockchain-integrated system is set to eradicate this hurdle, thereby enabling continuous operation.
"By harnessing the power of blockchain technology, we aim to enable instantaneous, 24/7 transaction processing. This will empower GIFT City banks to align their operations with their own time-zone and working hours," Kulkarni explained.
The trial project, slated to kick off on Monday, will leverage the capabilities of JPMorgan’s proprietary blockchain platform, Onyx, following authorization from the International Financial Services Center Authority. Onyx, a brainchild of JPMorgan established in 2020, is a dedicated blockchain platform designed to facilitate wholesale payment transactions.
This strategy seeks to significantly bolster New Delhi's efforts to establish the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City, also known as GIFT City, as a world-class trading hub, rivaling the likes of Dubai and Singapore. Moreover, the Reserve Bank of India has already spearheaded a domestic non-deliverable forward market settled in dollars within GIFT City.
Currently, the transaction settlement process can span several hours, with no provisions for settlements during weekends or on public holidays. The deployment of this innovative, real-time blockchain-integrated system is set to eradicate this hurdle, thereby enabling continuous operation.
"By harnessing the power of blockchain technology, we aim to enable instantaneous, 24/7 transaction processing. This will empower GIFT City banks to align their operations with their own time-zone and working hours," Kulkarni explained.
The trial project, slated to kick off on Monday, will leverage the capabilities of JPMorgan’s proprietary blockchain platform, Onyx, following authorization from the International Financial Services Center Authority. Onyx, a brainchild of JPMorgan established in 2020, is a dedicated blockchain platform designed to facilitate wholesale payment transactions.
