The service offered by JPMorgan’s blockchain payment platform, Interbank Information Network (IIN), has welcomed the participation of well over 80 Japanese banks in order to strengthen their anti-money laundering measures.
According to reports, Japan has long been accused of being a country that adopts weak measures against money laundering and for this reason, it seems that the IIN service offered by JPMorgan has become the new solution to the problem.
The executive director of the American multinational, Daizaburo Sanai, has revealed that Japan is currently the top country in terms of number of members among the more than 360 credit institutions that the IIN network has worldwide.
In an interview, Sanai said:
“Japanese banks may be seeking to use the platform to bolster anti-money laundering measures because it makes the screening of cash recipients “faster and more efficient””.
The IIN project of JPMorgan Chase, which was launched in 2017, appears to have landed only now in Japan with its platform involving the use of digital technology to accelerate global money transfers.
Specifically, IIN allows member banks to exchange international payment information on the native blockchain platform of JPMorgan, Quorum, which in May announced the development of a new blockchain function based on ethereum to increase the level of privacy of transactions.
However, the choice of banks in Japan to join this service, more so than for cross-border payments, is due to the issue of money laundering to which the country was exposed until last month.
Since 2014, in fact, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had started its investigation in the country finding shortcomings on the issue of money laundering as well as financing of terrorism, and it seems that the overall result will be announced next year.
Precisely because of this situation, an official of the Tokyo-based bank Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank Ltd. said:
“minimizing delays caused by inquiries between banks could enable “quick collaboration with law-enforcement authorities”.
Within its Quorum platform (blockchain permissioned based on ethereum), JPMorgan Chase is using the new JPM Coin, which was tested this summer in collaboration with some corporate clients.
JPM Coin should be used for international payments, equity transactions and JPMorgan’s own treasury services.
