KBank, Ant International, and Kinexys by J.P. Morgan Collaborate on Liquidity Management Infrastructure
Collaboration underlines a new paradigm in blockchain-based liquidity management pioneered by the three financial institutions, featuring seamless inbound and outbound flows via tokenized deposits
- KASIKORNBANK (KBank), Ant International, and J.P. Morgan have formed a strategic partnership to build an integrated financial infrastructure for cross-border payments.
- The collaboration leverages J.P. Morgan's Kinexys blockchain platform for 24/7 real-time USD transfers, combined with Ant's Alipay+ merchant network and KBank's local banking and FX expertise.
- A pilot project demonstrated the system's ability to reduce cross-border transaction times from up to 72 hours to approximately five minutes.
- The initiative aims to connect global liquidity with local merchants, enabling faster settlements, reducing processing times, and improving the efficiency of international payments.
Collaboration underlines a new paradigm in blockchain-based liquidity management pioneered by the three financial institutions, featuring seamless inbound and outbound flows via tokenized deposits.
KASIKORNBANK (KBank), Ant International, and Kinexys by J.P. Morgan have announced a strategic collaboration to build an integrated financial infrastructure to enhance Ant International’s internal fund flows.
The collaboration combines the distinct capabilities of each institution: KBank's domestic banking and foreign exchange (FX) expertise, Ant International's extensive ecosystem and cross-border payment solutions, and Kinexys by J.P. Morgan’s industry leading blockchain deposit account network, which provides 24-hour, 365-day, near real-time, on-chain USD fund transfers.
This builds on a successful pilot of Project Carina in 2024, in which KBank utilized Kinexys’ private permissioned blockchain infrastructure for internal cross-border remittance.
The results were impressive: transaction time fell from as long as 72 hours via an existing remittance rail to approximately five minutes, whilst simultaneously enabling round-the-clock processing without traditional banking cut-off constraints.
How it works
At the heart of the framework is a hybrid financial architecture that integrates blockchain-based settlement rails (Kinexys by J.P. Morgan) with conventional banking systems, including trade finance, FX conversion and payments, ensuring compatibility with existing institutional frameworks whilst delivering the speed and transparency of distributed ledger technology.
The system supports two internal transaction flows: inward remittance, in which USD funds from Ant International are processed via Kinexys’ private permissioned blockchain deposit account network, converted to Thai Baht by KBank, and subsequently disbursed to payment service providers (PSPs) and merchants within Ant International's entire ecosystem.
The second is outward remittance, which enables Ant International to transfer liquidity or funds collected from its corporate acquirers in Thailand. This capability enhances Ant International’s cross-border payment efficiency, optimizing backend processing times and strengthening overall service capabilities.
Strategic aims
The collaboration is designed to address long-standing friction in international payments, with four core objectives: bridging global liquidity into local merchant ecosystems; enabling seamless cross-border settlement; reducing transaction delays and operational costs; and improving transparency and trust in international financial flows.
*The development and potential implementation of this initiative will be undertaken in consultation with relevant regulatory authorities and will be subject to obtaining the necessary approvals prior to any live service deployment.
