Qatar National Bank Group (QNB), one of the Middle East’s largest banks, has adopted JPMorgan’s blockchain platform, Kinexys, to process corporate payments in Qatar, according to a Monday Bloomberg report.
The switch marks a departure from the constraints of traditional banking infrastructure, where cross-border payments are limited to weekdays and can take days to complete.
In a Bloomberg interview, Kamel Moris, the executive vice president of transactional banking at QNB, described the development as a “treasurer’s dream,” pointing to the 24/7 service window with the blockchain. “We can guarantee payments as fast as two minutes,” he added.
Cointelegraph reached out to the QNB for more information, but had not received a response by publication.
Kinexys processes $3 billion in daily transactions
According to the announcement, Kinexys processes about $3 billion in daily transactions. While the number looks impressive, it’s only a fraction of what JPMorgan is handling, which is about $10 trillion in daily payments.
The platform uses a permissioned blockchain system that lets participating clients move funds held on deposit within JP Morgan in a real-time manner.
Unlike permissionless networks, a permissioned blockchain integrates an access control layer. This additional security layer lets network participants perform actions they are allowed to perform.
In June, Kinexys collaborated with Chainlink and Ondo Finance to complete a crosschain delivery versus payment (DvP) settlement between a public testnet and a permissioned payment network.
The test involved Kinexys Digital Payments’ permissioned network and Ondo Chain’s testnet, which focuses on real-world asset (RWA) tokenization.
Related: China opens Shanghai digital yuan hub for cross-border, blockchain services
JPMorgan CEO not “worried” about stablecoins
While JPMorgan’s Kinexys is processing US-dollar payments, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon said in a CNBC interview on Sept. 23 that he’s “not particularly worried” about stablecoins, indicating that he doesn’t see these tokens as a threat to the bank’s business model.
Despite this, Dimon said that bank executives must be on top of the development and understand it, pointing to regulatory developments and the sector’s growth.
RWA.xyz data showed that stablecoin net inflows grew by over 320% in the third quarter, with Tether’s USDT and Circle’s USDC leading the charge.
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