Mastercard and J.P. Morgan have collaborated to improve global cross-border payment systems using blockchain technology, according to a Thursday press release. The partnership integrates Mastercard’s Multi-Token Network (MTN) with J.P. Morgan’ s Kinexys Digital Payments platform to streamline international transactions for businesses.
Mastercard’s MTN is a blockchain-based platform that facilitates the creation, issuance and redemption of digital assets. It includes a set of tools and standards offered through API integrations .
By combining MTN with Kinexys Digital Payments – a payments railroad that uses commercial bank money for real-time transfers – the two companies seek to improve transparency, speed up settlement and address time zone challenges in cross-border payments.
The integration allows joint MTN and Kinexys customers to settle B2B transactions through a single API, simplifying the process and making it more efficient for companies around the world.
Blockchain Mastercard innovates in partnership with MTN
Mastercard launched the MTN platform in June 2023, relying on its private blockchain infrastructure. Trials of the central bank’s packaged digital currencies (CBDCs) were conducted in cooperation with the Reserve Bank of Australia and the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) in August 2023.
Although these CBDCs have not yet been launched, the tests have shown the potential of tokenized financial instruments.
In May 2024, Mastercard and Standard Chartered Bank Hong Kong (SCBHK) conducted a live proof of concept (PoC) using MTNs to tokenize carbon credits as part of the HKMA Fintech pilot.
The project involved a Mox Bank customer depositing funds to purchase a carbon credit. Mox approached SCBHK to tokenize the loan through Libeara, a tokenization service provider. Using MTN, the deposit was tokenized and an exchange – a real-time transaction between blockchains – was successfully conducted.
That same month, Mastercard expanded its blockchain initiatives, partnering with major financial institutions including Swift, Citigroup, Visa and J.P. Morgan to explore distributed ledger technology (DLT) for tokenized bank settlements.
