Germany’s largest bank, Deutsche Bank, has joined 320 other banks in the JPMorgan blockchain network, the Interbank Information Network (IIN).
The move aims to lower cost for Deutsche Bank, which handles a vaster amount of euro payments relative to any other bank globally. This will also enhance cross-border transactions and thus avoid the costly lag periods.
IIN Platform to Enhance Cross-Border Transactions
According to the bank’s head of cash management globally, Ole Matthiessen, the Interbank Information Network will allow the bank to provide customers with enhanced services. He added that competitors are not just the banks anymore, because there are new players currently in the market. He said that Deutsche Bank needs to be more efficient for it to offer a smooth real-time digital experience to clients.
Matthiessen also indicated that the bank will equally employ the IIN platform in sharing of KYC checks with other financial institutions.
The JPMorgan-led blockchain launched in 2017, and currently, it has a network of 320 banks. Banks exchange payment data between each other through the Ethereum network. The IIN network runs on the JPMorgan Quorum platform and was recently reported to be almost full by co-founder Vitalik Buterin. This is because it is the most common blockchain network for dApps
JPMorgan Looks to Add More Banks on the Platform
JPMorgan’s head of payments, Takis Georgakopoulos, stated if the IIN platform were to have only JPMorgan clients, then it would likely have huge limitations. He added that that will mean that the rest of the smaller banks would still have separate procedures. This is because how they transact with JPMorgan and with other banks would still be different.
>> Ripple (XRP) Falls on Bearish Momentum: What Next?
Georgakopoulos stated that the IIN can accelerate transactions and issues through the provision of a “mutually accessible ledger,” which will save money and time. He expressed his optimism that with having the Deutsche Bank on-board, this will open opportunities for other large banks to go on-board with the IIN platform too.
Besides IIN, R3 and MasterCard’s cross-border blockchain platforms are also working to enhance the speed of global transactions. Despite there being 57 real-time payment platforms in over 72 countries, none are applicable universally.
Featured image: DepositPhotos © jamesteohart
