JPMorgan starts real-time USD settlement pilot in GIFT City

Mumbai: JPMorgan on Monday announced the use of its blockchain platform to launch a real-time interbank US dollar settlement pilot with six banks in the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT City).

The platform, called Onyx by JP Morgan and created in 2020, uses blockchain for wholesale payments transactions. Currently, clearing and settlement arrangements are carried out through banks' overseas nostro accounts that are bound by weekends and currency holidays, JP Morgan said.

The launch comes after the approval from the International Financial Services Center Authority (IFSCA) to develop and pilot a solution to settle interbank US dollar transactions, JPMorgan said.

The six banks that will participate are Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, JP Morgan Chase Bank Gift City branch and YES Bank.

"I look forward to the performance of this system that promises round-the-clock and instantaneous USD clearing and that will be piloted in IFSCA's Regulatory sandbox," Injeti Srinivas, chairperson, IFSCA said.