37 Latin American banks joined the JPMorgan interbank blockchain | CryptoNews

JPMorgan reported that, since its launch in September 2018, its blockchain-based project, known as the Interbank Information Network, IIN (Interbank Information Network), already has 344 affiliated banks globally. According to the list, available on the official website of the firm, among the current partners are relevant financial institutions worldwide, such as Deutsche Bank of Germany.

Banks of several Latin American countries such as Panama, Mexico, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru and Bolivia, among others, joined the network. So far, the project has aroused greater interest in Panama and Mexico, where most of the Latin American entities integrated into the network are located, with 8 and 6 respectively.

John Hunter, global compensation director at JPMorgan Chase, said the IIN project is pursuing the development of "a significant ecosystem of banking users." According to him, the objective is to “take advantage of emerging technologies such as blockchain to better address the complex cross-border payment industry,” he explained.

Initially, the IIN platform allowed banks to share information in a common access ledger, to avoid delays due to compliance problems. The system is based on an authorized variant of the Ethereum blockchain, developed by Quorum. According to official information, "IIN allows member banks to exchange information in real time as a way to verify that a payment has been approved."

However, in April this year JPMorgan said it would add local and cross-border interbank payment settlement services, to compete in the digital payment segment with providers such as Ripple, TransferWise and Revolut.

"In just one year, we have seen how IIN scales and expands in terms of functions and capabilities, and we are excited about the growth ahead," John Hunter said in an interview. The executive explained that 65 banks operate effectively in the network and the rest of the associates are in the process of integration, which will be completed before the end of 2021.

Hunter said that IIN could process between 2% and 5% of international payments. In addition, he said that JPMorgan explores new applications that can be integrated into the network.