Ant International settles FX transactions on JP Morgan Kinexys blockchain

• The digital payments arm of Ant Group, operator of the Alipay mobile payments platform, has integrated Kinexys Digital Payments into its treasury platform

• Ant Financial and Kinexys parent J.P. Morgan say the integration offers Ant Financial the ability to make payments in three major currencies 24/7

• The cross-currency payment capability operates outside normal banking hours but remains within the J.P. Morgan private permissioned blockchain network

Ant International, the Singapore-based digital payments arm of the Ant Group, has integrated the J.P. Morgan Kinexys Digital Payments functionality into its Whale blockchain-based treasury management platform.

The aim is to give Ant International, whose flows of cross-currency funds are both large and growing, the ability to make payments in a small selection of foreign currencies - namely US Dollar, Pound Sterling and euro - in near-real time, 24/7.

“Our solution offers near real-time settlement, supported by one of the largest liquidity pools in the market,” explains Terry Harcott, Global Head of FX Services Payments Product at J.P. Morgan. “This positions Ant International for further growth, driven by the innovative Kinexys Digital Payments network and J.P. Morgan’s extensive FX market coverage.”

Ant International has worked with J.P. Morgan since 2021. Last year, the bank says it processed billions of dollars of US Dollar transactions for Ant International via Kinexys Digital Payments.

This year, Ant International has completed via Kinexys Digital Payments a near-instant US Dollar to Euro cross-border, on-chain payment outside normal banking hours.

“This collaboration bridges fintech agility with institutional stability and empowers global businesses to move capital quickly, seamlessly and securely,” adds Akshika Gupta, Global Head of Client Solutions at Kinexys by J.P. Morgan. “We are pleased to help Ant International unlock truly 24/7 on-chain FX.”

The ability to complete cross-currency payments outside of designated market hours and beyond traditional market cut-off times is often advertised as a benefit of blockchain-based platforms.

“By overcoming limited settlement windows and currencies, on-chain FX settlement is revolutionising cross-border payments to achieve new economic efficiencies, especially for complex markets in Asia,” says Kelvin Li, General Manager of Platform Tech at Ant International. “With this milestone, we aim to enable more secure, reliable and transparent real-time cross-border payments solutions for businesses of all sizes across travel, trade and commerce sectors in this region and beyond.”

Kinexys, originally set up by J.P. Morgan in 2015, has offered corporate clients of the bank blockchain deposit accounts since 2019 on its in-house, private and permissioned network.