Emirates NBD launches real-time USD payments on Partior

Emirates NBD has gone live on the Partior blockchain network to offer real-time cross-border U.S. dollar payments. The bank announced the activation on July 14 after a live pilot in which JPMorgan acted as both settlement and beneficiary bank.

Emirates NBD is rolling the capability out to corporate and institutional clients, enabling instant USD transfers to accounts held at JPMorgan. For the tested corridor, the bank can settle transactions on Partior without using traditional correspondent banking rails.

The launch is the first phase of a wider multi-currency roadmap. Emirates NBD plans to connect with additional global banks, add currencies and settlement corridors, and introduce programmable liquidity management tools to give corporate treasuries control over timing and flow of funds.

Partior operates a multi-currency, blockchain-based clearing and settlement platform that records transactions in real time across participating institutions. The platform uses a distributed ledger to record settlement instructions and update balances as transactions complete.

Anith Daniel, group head of transaction banking services at Emirates NBD, noted that the live execution on Partior ‘enables us to offer faster USD settlement for JPMorgan beneficiaries, supporting more efficient treasury operations for our clients.’ He added that the platform allows deployment of payment solutions that are secure and scalable in live environments.

Humphrey Valenbreder, chief executive of Partior, commented that the collaboration pairs Emirates NBD’s regional reach with Partior’s clearing infrastructure and that ‘the focus now is on expanding participation across currencies and markets as more banks connect and transact on the network.’

The integration follows a strategic relationship and an equity investment made through Emirates NBD’s Innovation Fund. The bank began a major technology overhaul in 2016 and launched the mobile-only bank Liv in 2017. Emirates NBD runs a structured sandbox for fintech testing and offers an API Souq portal for external developers.

Recent initiatives include a Digital Asset Lab to study decentralized finance and tokenization, a partnership with Techstars to source AI and fintech platforms, and an investment in Zodia Custody, a digital asset custodian. Emirates NBD presents the Partior connection as an initial commercial use case within its work on next-generation payment infrastructure.