JPMorgan, the biggest bank in America in cooperation with the central bank of Singapore have built up a blockchain model for multi-currency cross-border payments.

The Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) announced the news on Monday saying that the new payment system is able to carry transactions in various on the same network adding that Temasek and JPMorgan worked together with MAS to build the blockchain-based system.

“There is growing evidence now that blockchain-based payments networks are able to enhance cost efficiencies and create new opportunities for businesses,” included Sopnendu Mohanty, chief fintech officer of MAS.

The new payments system is part of the Project Ubin, which is an effort from MAS to explore the blockchain potential in the payments system.

“J.P. Morgan is excited to be an infrastructure partner of MAS and Temasek for Phase 5 of Project Ubin. By leveraging our key learnings from building the Interbank Information Network® (IIN) and the JPM Coin, J.P. Morgan is well-positioned to support the development of a blockchain-based payments network and operate at scale,” said John Hunter, Product Executive for Global Payments business at JPMorgan.

This is a big step to make cross-border transactions faster, cheaper, and safer concludes the publication.

Blockchain But Not Cryptocurrencies

Jamie Dimon, JPMorgan Chase CEO a well know bitcoin hater has called several times the top crypto a bubble. Yet the company launched its JPM coin at the beginning of this year and now the bank is building a payment system based on blockchain. The giant financial institution philosophy is clear “blockchain but not crypto“. JPMorgan is also the top poster on indeed.com for blockchain jobs.

Banks feel the threat of the new emerging technology and are trying to not be left behind, but these systems they build are still corporate coins or centralized networks, not too much different from the actual banking system.

People do not only need faster and cheaper payment systems but primarily need more decentralized and censorship-resistant payment systems. Systems that people can access their money without the need for permission from a third party. Riots are spreading over the world demanding better monetary policies and authorities in those countries are using the banking system to suppress the protests like in Lebanon where people are not allowed to withdraw their money.

The 2019 year has seen an exploding interest in developing central bank coins with China, Europe, Turkey and other countries in a race for the blockchain supremacy. Also, corporate coins like Libra and JPM coin which are more or less like Ripple (XRP).

Sooner or later the decentralized banking will replace the traditional banking, but until this happens let the old bankers explore the blockchain technology.