Global financial messaging network, the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), is carrying out a blockchain-based shareholder e-voting proof-of-concept (PoC) with major financial institutions. SWIFT announced the news in a press release published on March 6. Per the press release, the PoC will be jointly conducted in the Asia Pacific region with Deutsche Bank, DBS, HSBC, Standard Chartered Bank, securities software provider SLI and the Singapore Exchange (SGX). The test is meant to establish whether distributed ledger technology (DLT) can simplify the management of shareholder meetings. More precisely, the test, which is set to run during the first half …

United States banking giant JPMorgan Chase (JPM) is launching its own cryptocurrency in a U.S. banking first, CNBC reported on Feb. 14. In a move commentators may see as unlikely, the multinational lender will use its newly developed asset, dubbed “JPM Coin,” to increase settlement efficiency, initially within three of its operations. Speaking to CNBC, Umar Farooq, who leads JPM’s blockchain focus, appeared buoyant on blockchain technology’s perspectives at the bank. “So anything that currently exists in the world, as that moves onto the blockchain, this would be the payment leg for that transaction,” he told the network: “The applications …

On Jan. 30, major global banking payments network SWIFT announced it plans to launch a proof-of-concept (PoC) of a gateway — titled GPI Link — that will allow blockchain software firm R3 to connect to SWIFT’s Global Payments Innovation (GPI) payments from its platform. Therefore, SWIFT has made another step toward adopting blockchain, despite having expressed concerns over the technology's maturity in the past. However, SWIFT’s competitors have already voiced their concerns, saying that the new system is not decentralized enough. Brief introduction to SWIFT’s relationship with blockchain SWIFT is a 46-year-old Belgium-based interbank messaging service and a co-operative owned …

Top Stories This Week SWIFT Reveals Plans to Launch Proof-of-Concept With Blockchain Consortium R3 Major global banking payments network SWIFT announced plans this week to develop a Proof-of-Concept of a gateway that will let blockchain consortium R3 link to GPI (Global Payments Innovation) payments from their platform. According to SWIFT, users of the R3 platform will be able to authorize payments through the new GPI Link, settling GPI payments with the users’ banks, with the credit confirmation reported back to the trade platforms via GPI Link. Crypto Exchange Gemini Completes Security Compliance Review from Deloitte Gemini crypto exchange, which was …

This article has been updated to reflect the breaking news events. Major global banking payments network SWIFT has revealed it plans to launch a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) of a gateway — dubbed GPI Link — that will allow enterprise blockchain software firm R3 to link to GPI (Global Payments Innovation) payments from their platform. Speaking at the Paris Fintech Forum on Jan. 30, CEO Gottfried Leibbrandt said SWIFT would be formally announcing its plans for a Proof-of-Concept (PoC) with R3 later today. Leibbrandt was speaking for the first time in a joint panel with Brad Garlinghouse, CEO of Ripple — which …

Iran could unveil its state-backed cryptocurrency at the Electronic Banking and Payment Systems conference in Tehran this week, local English-language news outlet Al Jazeera reported on Jan. 27. Iran, which has faced fresh sanctions from the United States since November, had previously planned to use blockchain-based financial tools as a way of sidestepping restrictions on its economic growth. Though a central bank-issued digital currency (CBDC), which could be a rial-backed crypto, it was thought Tehran could forge an alternative to SWIFT, the global settlements system that some Iranian banks cannot access. Sources remain unsure whether such a large-scale implementation will …

High-volume Coinbase Pro and Prime users in Europe and Asia can now fund their accounts via international SWIFT wire transfer from non-United States bank accounts, a post on the official Coinbase blog announces Jan. 22. The post also notes that “select Coinbase Prime customers globally will also have access to our US and European over-the-counter (OTC) trading desks and Coinbase Custody.” Coinbase Custody — which focuses on serving institutional customers and storing large amounts of cryptocurrencies — recently obtained approval to operate in the state of New York, after launching in July. According to the announcement, the OTC trading desk …

SWIFT India has partnered with fintech firm MonetaGo to pilot a distributed ledger (DLT) network designed to improve the efficiency and security of financial products, according to a press release published Nov. 20. SWIFT India is a joint venture established by SWIFT SCRL (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) and a number of major Indian and international banks, including HDFC Bank and the Bank of India. The organization provides messaging services to domestic market infrastructures, banks and corporates. Per the announcement, the new program based on MonetaGo’s financial services network technology will be integrated through standardized SWIFT financial messages. The …

Malaysian lending giant CIMB Group Holdings Bhd has joined Ripple’s (XRP) cross-border payments network RippleNet, Bloomberg reports Nov. 15. The $53.5 billion market cap CIMB will integrate Ripple’s XCurrent product, a software solution for expediting cross-border payments, for its “SpeedSend” remittance product. As Bloomberg reports, CIMB’s product serves multiple Southeast Asian markets, including the Philippines, Vietnam and Thailand. As Bloomberg notes, Ripple is vying to outstrip incumbent money transfer giant SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) in the global cross-border payments industry. The latter’s website claims SWIFT currently serves over 11,000 clients across 200 countries. In an interview with …