KB Kookmin Bank taps JPMorgan's Kinexys to wire dollars across 10 countries at SWIFT speed 🇰🇷

KB Kookmin Bank, South Korea's largest lender by assets, will roll out a blockchain-based cross-border payment service for import and export firms in August using JPMorgan's Kinexys network, according to multiple local media reports. Kinexys, formerly known as Onyx, is JPMorgan's blockchain platform for institutional payments, tokenization and digital assets.

The service will initially support US dollar transfers across 10 countries, including the United States, Singapore, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. According to Yonhap, it will integrate with the existing SWIFT payment network to enable near-instant cross-border payments and foreign exchange settlement.

In an April research report, S&P Global ranked KB Financial Group, the parent of KB Kookmin Bank, as South Korea's largest lender by assets. The group is also listed as the 28th-largest bank in the Asia-Pacific region, with $552.76 billion in total assets.

The launch positions KB Kookmin among a growing set of Asian institutions testing permissioned blockchain rails for traditional banking flows. JPMorgan rebranded its Onyx platform to Kinexys as the unit expanded its tokenization and digital asset services for institutional clients.

Separately, North Korea was reported to have arrested a bank hacking ring tied to crypto laundering, though the arrests are unrelated to the KB Kookmin-Kinexys partnership.