On Monday, IBM announced the launch of World Wire, a real-time global payments system built on the Stellar network.

This is big news: by linking regulated financial institutions to the speed and versatility of Stellar, World Wire aims to replace the legacy correspondent banking system with simple point-to-point transactions. Out of the gate, World Wire supports 47 currencies in 72 countries, and it’s only going to grow from there.

We recently sat down to talk with Jesse Lund, Vice President of IBM Blockchain, to get his take on Stellar and World Wire and why the two platforms make sense together.

SDF and Stellar seek to unlock the world’s economic potential by making money more fluid, markets more open, and people more empowered. As you can see, IBM’s ambitions for World Wire align perfectly with our mission.