More than 80 banks in Japan have shown interest in joining JPMorgan’s blockchain payments platform, the Interbank Information Network (IIN).
Daizaburo Sanai, an Executive Director at JPMorgan, told Bloomberg in an interview published Tuesday that the number is highest from any single country on the network, which currently has over 360 banks worldwide.
Sanai said IIN may help Japanese banks combat money laundering risks as the network makes the screening of cash recipients “faster and more efficient.”
Japanese banks have been under pressure to strengthen their anti-money laundering measures since the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) found deficiencies in the country in 2014. Last month, the FATF reportedly finished its latest on-site inspection of Japan and plans to announce the results next year.
Tokyo-based Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank is one of the banks that have signed a letter of intent to join IIN, per the report. Takashi Endo, a treasury operations department officer at Sumitomo said IIN could help minimize delays caused by inquiries between banks and in turn help with “quick collaboration with law enforcement authorities, which is an effective way” to fight money laundering.
JPMorgan first launched its IIN network in 2017, which allows member banks to exchange information related to international payments on JPMorgan’s native blockchain platform Quorum. Some of the notable banks on the network include Deutsche Bank, Royal Bank of Canada and Australia and New Zealand (ANZ) Banking Group, among others.
