As we have been advising now for quite some time, the cross-border payments space, especially with regard to B2B scenarios, has been and will continue to be a hotbed of change, spurred on by digital tech and ongoing demand for easier and less expensive methods of value exchange.
This referenced piece is posted at The Block and provides an overview of a new blockchain venture being launched by JPMorgan, DBS, and Temasek, the Singapore-based PE firm. The company will be called Partior and is another on the growing list of blockchain-based initiatives to improve cross-border payments between businesses.
‘Dubbed Partior, the company aims to resolve pain points or frictions of payments, trade, and foreign exchange settlement through blockchain technology….Partior would develop a “blockchain-based wholesale payments infrastructure where information and value can change hands around the world in a 24/7, frictionless way,” said JPMorgan’s global head of wholesale payments Takis Georgakopoulos….When complete, the infrastructure will enable financial institutions and developers to jointly create applications that support use cases such as forex payment versus payment, delivery versus payment, and peer-to-peer escrows.’
There are no details in the posting and we have not been briefed, so we are not sure what is different about this payments venture versus a Ripple or Ethereum (other than stablecoins or CBDCs only and the relative brand value in the wholesale payments world), so can’t comment on that until more is known. In the meantime, we are sure more is to come.
‘JPMorgan, DBS, and Temasek have previously worked on Project Ubin, the Singapore central bank’s initiative that explored the application of blockchain technology in multi-currency payments and settlements….Now through the operation of Partior, which is subject to regulatory approvals, the three companies aim to “transform interbank value movements in a new digital era.”…”The launch of Partior is a global watershed moment for digital currencies, marking a move from pilots and experimentations towards commercialization and live adoption,” said Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer at the Monetary Authority of Singapore. “Partior is a pioneering step towards providing foundational global infrastructure for transacting with digital currencies in a trusted environment, spurring a wide range of use-cases in the blockchain ecosystem.” ‘
Overview by Steve Murphy, Director, Commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group