JPMorgan announced the launch of a pilot project that will allow Indian participating banks to open blockchain-based correspondent accounts to make U.S. dollar payments.
JPMorgan launched a blockchain project in India to make cross-border interbank payments in dollars, which is intended to be an alternative to the SWIFT payment system. The project is launched on a limited basis. Only financial institutions operating in the free trade zone GIFT City (Gujarat International Finance Tec-City) are involved. This is reported by the Economic Times.
JPMorgan’s new service, based on the blockchain platform Onyx Digital Assets, allows participants to make almost instant dollar transactions at any time. This is much more convenient for local banks than using the SWIFT system, where transaction processing takes quite a long time and can only be done during U.S. business hours.
The publication’s journalists note that the blockchain platform TassatPay, which already cooperates with several major financial institutions, such as Western Alliance Bank and Axos Bank, offers similar technology in the United States.
JPMorgan’s current experiments in India are driven by the authorities’ intention to make GIFT City more competitive compared to other global free trade zones. India generally has a strong local blockchain industry and digital asset market. For example, it was recently revealed that the central banks of India and the UAE are working on a pilot CBDC bridge project, designed to provide direct interoperability of government digital currencies and enable remittance and trade transactions without intermediaries.
