Mastercard has announced an integration between its Multi-Token Network (MTN) and Kinexys Digital Payments, a blockchain-based payment solution developed by J.P. Morgan. Announced on 21 November 2024, this collaboration aims to redefine business-to-business (B2B) cross-border payments by enhancing transparency, speed, and efficiency.
Mastercard’s MTN is a blockchain-powered platform offering a set of API-enabled tools and standards for innovative business applications. By integrating with Kinexys Digital Payments, powered by J.P. Morgan’s blockchain unit, the companies aim to improve payment settlement solutions for global businesses.
Kinexys Digital Payments is designed to enable real-time value transfer using commercial bank money. Through this integration with Mastercard’s MTN, businesses can now settle cross-border B2B payments through a single API, reducing complexities and operational inefficiencies often associated with global transactions. In other words, this integration focuses on tackling common pain points in cross-border payments, including time zone friction, transparency and settlement speed.
The positive development comes shortly after UBS, a Swiss bank and financial services provider headquartered in Zurich, successfully piloted a multi-currency blockchain-based payment system dubbed UBS Digital Cash.
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Reactions from MasterCard and J.P. Morgan
Naveen Mallela, co-head of Kinexys, highlighted the strategic value of this partnership, lauding the capacity of their solutions to play a transformative role in digital global commerce and digital assets.
He commented in the news brief thus: “At Kinexys, we believe our solutions can play a transformative role in the ecosystem for digital global commerce and digital assets, where the value proposition of commercial transaction venues is enhanced by the availability of commercial bank payment rails that can natively integrate with any digital marketplace or platform. We look forward to supporting our clients engaging with the MTN ecosystem and collaborating further with Mastercard in the digital space.”
Reacting to the development, Raj Dhamodharan, Mastercard’s Executive Vice President for Blockchain and Digital Assets, echoed this sentiment, emphasizing the collaboration’s potential to unlock faster and more transparent settlement processes.
He reacted to the positive development thus: “For years, both Mastercard and Kinexys by J.P. Morgan [has] been committed to innovating for the future of digital asset[s] and commercial infrastructure. By bringing together the power and connectivity of Mastercard’s MTN with Kinexys Digital Payments, we are unlocking greater speed and settlement capabilities for the entire value chain. We are excited about this integration and the new use cases it will bring to life, leveraging the strengths and innovations of both organizations.”
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Broader industry implications
Overall, this integration reflects a shared vision between Mastercard and J.P. Morgan to drive innovation in financial systems through blockchain technology, making it a significant step forward in modernizing global payment infrastructures. Both firms aim to empower businesses with blockchain payment solutions while paving the way for broader adoption of the decentralized ledger technology in traditional finance. Recall that JPMorgan Chase enabled its retail customers to enjoy access to crypto-asset investments since July 2021.
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Ndianabasi Tom A Petroleum Engineering degree holder, Ndianabasi’s interest since 2018 has been studying the ever-growing field of blockchain and cryptocurrency, keenly evaluating the innovation, exploration, and expansion of this field locally and globally. The founder of Nitadel a media platform, Ndianabasi has been a Writer at Crypto Asset Buyer (CAB) since 2021. When he is not drilling resources in the blockchain and cryptocurrency field, Ndianabasi is singing, reading, watching crime movies, or playing football.
