BMW Taps JPMorgan for First Onchain Programmable FX Payment

German carmaker BMW Group has become the first corporation to execute a fully pre-programmed FX transaction using mega-bank JPMorgan’s Kinexys Digital Payments network, the companies said on Tuesday.

BMW’s German and U.S. treasury teams pre-defined conditions through JPMorgan’s Programmable Payments application, which enabled an automated, end-to-end FX transaction from EUR to USD. The permissioned blockchain seamlessly transferred the funds between Frankfurt and New York.

The process was completed outside traditional settlement windows and without manual intervention, allowing BMW Group to optimize liquidity and achieve near-instant, multi-currency cross-border payments based on pre-set conditions, according to a press release.

“We implement a stringent roadmap for real-time treasury on the basis of blockchain technology and other technological innovation developments,” said Stefan Richmann, Head of BMW Group Treasury. “The very first fully automated and programmable payment represents a leap forward for us and will allow us to make payment processes faster and more seamless.”

JPMorgan has been a trailblazer when it comes to experimenting with permissioned versions of Ethereum, and is pushing more innovation out the door lately, including bringing the bank’s blockchain-based deposit token, JPM Coin, to Coinbase’s decentralized Base network.

“We’re proud to help global businesses unlock the combined benefits of programmable payments and 24/7/365 onchain FX settlement,” said Akshika Gupta, J.P. Morgan’s Global Head of Client Services for Kinexys Digital Payments. “Our singular focus is on building next-generation financial infrastructure and we are excited to work with our clients to realize the future of finance.”