Industrial giant Siemens AG and digital-asset market maker B2C2 have begun using JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s blockchain-based platform for foreign exchange payments.
According to a report from Bloomberg, the service allows both companies to make cross-border FX transactions in US dollars, British pounds, and euros at any time, with near-instant settlement, compared with traditional banking systems that operate mainly on weekdays and can take several days to process payments.
Siemens and B2C2 Move to Blockchain FX
For B2C2, which is owned by SBI Holdings Inc., the platform offers the ability to move cash freely and react quickly to fluctuations in crypto markets, a feature that is especially valuable during periods of high volatility.
Thomas Restout, the company’s chief executive officer, said that the system allows them to manage risk more effectively by providing the ability to move cash 24/7. During recent market swings, traders faced higher margin calls over the weekend when traditional banks were closed, which left them with limited options to add funds or buy crypto, which Restout explained could be challenging without round-the-clock access to cash.
The service runs on JPMorgan’s Kinexys Digital Payments network, a distributed-ledger system built to improve how large firms send and receive funds globally. Established in 2019, the Kinexys network now handles roughly $3 billion in transactions daily, which is a fraction of the bank’s approximately $10 trillion in total daily payment volume, but the number continues to grow as the network gains traction among corporate clients.
Siemens Pushes for Speed and Simplicity
Siemens has already leveraged other services on the Kinexys network and recently executed a near-instant dollar-to-euro FX transfer using the platform. The company was the first client to use JPMorgan’s blockchain deposit accounts in 2019 to transfer funds between global subsidiaries.
Heiko Nix, global head of cash management and payments at Siemens, said that the latest update simplifies transactional FX in real time, removes time-zone barriers, and allows the company to mobilize cash precisely when and where it is needed.
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