Qatar National Bank will use JPMorgan’s Kinexys blockchain platform to power faster, round-the-clock US dollar payments for its corporate clients. According to a Bloomberg report , the move marks a significant shift in how the Middle East’s largest lender by assets handles cross-border transactions. Why did Qatar National Bank adopt Kinexys? By leveraging Kinexys, QNB becomes the first Qatari bank to adopt JPMorgan’s blockchain-powered payment rail for US dollar settlements, giving its business clients access to near-instant fund transfers regardless of traditional banking hours. The bank now offers payments in as little as two minutes, a development described by QNB’s head of transactional banking, Kamel Moris, as “a treasurer’s dream.” For corporate clients who have long dealt with the friction of legacy banking systems, often limited to weekday operations and delayed settlement times, the transition promises a meaningful upgrade. Faster, automated, and traceable payments can improve cash flow visibility and reduce the operational headaches associated with global treasury management. And for QNB, it’s not just about efficiency; the integration with Kinexys also positions the bank to remain competitive in an increasingly digital and decentralized financial environment. With this rollout, QNB joins a growing cohort of major MENA-region banks, including First Abu Dhabi Bank, Emirates NBD, and Saudi National Bank, that are already part of the Kinexys network. JPMorgan’s Kinexys system, which was launched in 2019, currently processes around $3 billion worth of transactions daily. While that figure is still a small slice of the $10 trillion in total daily flows across JPMorgan’s broader payments division, executives say the blockchain network is scaling fast . Among future plans, the bank’s long-term strategy hinges on opening Kinexys to other financial institutions, including those outside its direct client base, by tapping into its massive global correspondent banking network. This open architecture could allow more regional banks to tap into high-speed, on-chain infrastructure without building it themselves. “This is institutional-grade scale,” said Naveen Mallela, global co-head of Kinexys, speaking to Bloomberg. According to Mallela, blockchain adoption across banking remains slow but is reaching a tipping point as treasurers and corporate finance teams demand faster, more transparent alternatives to traditional systems like SWIFT. Qatar National Bank’s blockchain push QNB’s blockchain foray doesn’t stop with Kinexys, as the bank has quietly been exploring multiple blockchain and tokenization initiatives over the past few years. For instance, in 2021, QNB and Ripple launched a pilot for a blockchain-based cross-border remittance service via its Turkish subsidiary, Finansbank, using RippleNet . Then, in July this year, the bank introduced the first tokenized money market fund dubbed QCD Money Market within the Dubai International Financial Centre via a collaboration with DMZ Finance. QNB has also signed a memorandum of understanding with Qatar Financial Centre during Web Summit Qatar 2025, pledging to support fintech firms by offering access to its banking infrastructure. The development came just months after the Qatar Financial Center released a new regulatory framework for digital assets. The post Qatar National Bank taps JPMorgan’s Kinexys blockchain for USD payments appeared first on Invezz
