Emirates NBD launches region’s first real-time blockchain USD payments

Corporate clients can send real-time USD payments to J.P. Morgan beneficiaries

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Nivetha Dayanand, Assistant Business Editor
Emirates NBD launches region’s first real-time blockchain USD payments
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Dubai: Emirates NBD has launched real-time cross-border US dollar payments for corporate and institutional clients through the Partior blockchain network, cutting settlement times and giving businesses greater visibility over transactions.

The Dubai-based banking group is the first financial institution in the region to process live cross-border payments using Partior’s multi-currency blockchain clearing and settlement infrastructure.

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Clients can currently use the service to make real-time USD payments when the beneficiary holds an account with J.P. Morgan. The global bank acted as both the settlement bank and beneficiary bank during the first successful live transaction.

The service is expected to support businesses managing international payments and treasury operations by reducing processing delays and providing clearer information on the status of transactions.

Faster settlement for businesses

Traditional cross-border payments can pass through several banks before reaching the beneficiary, which can increase settlement times and make it harder for companies to track funds.

Emirates NBD said the Partior connection allows eligible USD transactions to be cleared and settled in real time within a regulated banking framework.

“As the needs of our corporate and institutional clients evolve, we continue to deliver innovative solutions that create value for their businesses," said Anith Daniel, Group Head of Transaction Banking Services at Emirates NBD. "Moving from partnership to live execution on the Partior network enables us to offer faster USD settlement for J.P. Morgan beneficiaries, supporting more efficient treasury operations for our clients. This launch reflects our ability to deploy payment solutions that are secure, scalable and proven in live cross-border execution with global counterparties.”

More currencies and banks planned

The USD service represents the first phase of a wider expansion plan covering additional currencies, payment corridors and participating banks.

Emirates NBD is working towards connecting with other banks on the Partior network, which would allow clients to settle transactions across more currencies and markets.

The bank said the expanded network would provide shorter turnaround times and support programmable liquidity management, helping corporate treasury teams manage funds more efficiently.

Partior provides blockchain-based infrastructure that enables participating financial institutions to clear and settle payments continuously, instead of relying solely on conventional processing windows.

The service comes amid growing adoption of blockchain settlement infrastructure among global banks seeking faster cross-border capital flows, improved transaction visibility and fewer processing delays.

Nivetha Dayanand
Nivetha DayanandAssistant Business Editor
Nivetha Dayanand is Assistant Business Editor at Gulf News, covering aviation, financial markets and commodities. A business and financial journalist with a strong interest in multimedia storytelling, she regularly takes complex financial and economic subjects beyond the written word, producing explainer videos that make them easier for a wider audience to understand. Nivetha has interviewed senior policymakers, business leaders and global financial figures both on and off camera. Her past guests include UAE Minister of Economy and Tourism Abdulla bin Touq Al Marri, Khaled bin Alwaleed Al Saud, a member of the House of Saud and the founder and CEO of KBW Ventures, Jihad Azour, Director of the Middle East and Central Asia Department at the International Monetary Fund and Indian ministers Hardeep Singh Puri and N. Chandrababu Naidu. She has also hosted and moderated panels, conferences and awards shows, bringing her newsroom experience to live conversations on business, finance and the economy. An Erasmus Mundus journalism alum, Nivetha is drawn to stories that affect people directly and to reporting that gives a platform to voices that might otherwise go unheard. She was among the first journalists to speak to Petrofac employees in the UAE about unpaid salaries, broke the news of the planned demolition of Dubai’s well-known “Toyota Building”, and helped set the record straight on widely circulated claims that a giant replica of the Moon was coming to Dubai. More recently, her exclusive interview with EDGE Group CEO Hamad Al Marar revealed how the UAE-based defence group deployed its systems along the country’s shore border and established a geofence around the UAE within 48 hours of the February 28 escalation. Prior to joining Gulf News, Nivetha worked at ITP Media, where she helped launch Finance Middle East, a new publication covering the region’s financial sector. Her role spanned reporting and editing, video production, interviews and events. Across print, digital, and video, she focuses on finding the people behind business stories and explaining why those stories matter to the audience reading or watching them.
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