Qatar National Bank (QNB Group) has moved its U.S. dollar corporate payments operations to a blockchain-based network developed by JPMorgan Chase. This allows instant settlement to business customers in Qatar, where the transaction takes minutes, even over the weekend.
Executive Vice President Kamel Moris said the change is in response to a longstanding demand by corporate treasurers who are facing delays with traditional clearing systems.
Conventional banking rails can frequently take days and can only be used during business hours. The new setup on JPMorgan’s Kinexys Digital Payments system means transactions can clear in as little as two minutes.
Moris further stated the development was a game-changer for treasury, pointing out that companies now expect money to flow as fast as the digital medium. Additionally, the bank can now offer clients certainty of settlement at all times. He further noted in the interview, “It’s a treasurer’s dream.”
JPMorgan Scales Its Blockchain Network
In 2019, JPMorgan launched Kinexys, which provides institutional money flows through distributed ledger technology.
The network currently handles around $3 billion in daily transactions. While that volume is increasing, it is still modest compared to the $10 trillion per day JPMorgan moves through traditional channels.
Despite the difference, JPMorgan is using its status as the largest U.S. dollar clearing bank to drive adoption.
The platform is integrated into the bank’s correspondent network, which allows access to institutions that do not have a direct banking relationship with JPMorgan.
Naveen Mallela, global co-head of Kinexys, said the system is “institutional-grade scale” and is designed for high-volume financial institutions.
In May 2025, JPMorgan revealed eight major banks in the Middle East and North Africa region had joined Kinexys, including QNB, Saudi National Bank, First Abu Dhabi Bank, Emirates NBD, Commercial Bank of Dubai, and Bahrain’s Bank ABC, among others.
QNB’s foray into blockchain payments is also in line with its overall digital strategy.
In September 2025, the bank introduced a tokenized money market fund that further solidifies its approach to allowing emerging technologies to be a part of the mainstream financial services.
Large financial institutions have tested distributed ledger technology for more than a decade, but widespread adoption has been slow.
The existing scalability, regulatory, and profitability issues have kept most projects as experiments rather than full-blown commercial endeavors.
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