Fernando Pacheco, Head of Wholesale Payments and Commercial Banking, says in today’s “always-on” world, J.P. Morgan is creating an environment where payments are moving instantly.

What has been driving the trend for real-time payments?

 

In a word, expectations. As individuals, using our mobile devices, we are no longer location dependent so neither are our payments: we ride share, buy-online and conduct our banking anywhere, anytime. We expect our payment arrangements to be conducted instantly. Businesses have higher expectations, paying and receiving their money faster and having visibility over the transactions and the information that goes with them. That is why J.P. Morgan has been actively engaged in assisting our clients with the benefits of real-time payments systems that provide immediate payment finality. In turn, this allows for improved liquidity, better financial control, budgeting, and easier reconciliation. To that end, we are proud to have been the first US bank to join SEPA Instant in April 2019.

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“Luxembourg is a great location for our clients to leverage new technologies, to drive true benefits to the bottom line.”

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What role is Luxembourg playing in meeting expectations?

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Luxembourg is a strategic regional treasury hub for J.P. Morgan, and perfectly positioned to support the unprecedented rate of change in the European payments landscape as a result of ever changing client expectations and technological advances. J.P. Morgan Bank Luxembourg offers global companies the ability to centralise their cash management and is constantly delivering new, innovate solutions to our clients, from Virtual Account Management to API connectivity. Luxembourg is a great location for our clients to leverage these capabilities and in 2019 we were actively involved in preparations for the rollout of SEPA Instant payments in the local market. J.P. Morgan is already a member of the SEPA Instant payments scheme in Germany and became the only bank in the world to offer the capability of real-time payments in USD, GBP and EUR earlier this year.

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How are you addressing the growing requirement for fast and accurate information?

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As payments start to move to real-time, the flow of information needs to match the speed of payment expectations. We launched the Interbank Information Network (IIN) in 2017 to address friction points within the payments chain. What is exciting and unique about IIN is that it is the first live interbank blockchain service for banks, providing information exchange and maintenance through a secure network. Leveraging distributed ledger technology and J.P. Morgan’s blockchain platform, IIN also provides a framework and architecture for participants to develop new applications or value-added services.

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