UPDATED 22:51 EDT / SEPTEMBER 17 2019

BLOCKCHAIN

With new internal settlement service, Wells Fargo jumps on the stablecoin bandwagon

Well Fargo & Co. is the latest U.S. financial institution to jump on the stablecoin bandwagon, announcing today that it’s piloting a blockchain-based internal settlement service that will use its own digital currency.

Dubbed “Wells Fargo Digital Cash,” the stablecoin will allow the bank to complete internal book transfers of cross-border payments within its global network using “digitized cash.” Wells Fargo international locations will also be able to move funds among themselves using the stablecoin.

Stablecoins are cryptocurrencies that are tied to stored tangible assets, usually — and in the case of the Well Fargo — the U.S. dollar to guarantee their value.

“As a result of the increasing digitization of banking services globally, we see a growing demand to further reduce friction regarding traditional borders, and today’s technology puts us in a strong position to do that,” Lisa Frazier, head of the Innovation Group at Wells Fargo, said in a statement. “We believe [digital ledger technology] holds promise for a variety of use cases, and we’re energized to take this significant step in applying the technology to banking in a material and scalable way. Wells Fargo Digital Cash has the potential to enable Wells Fargo to remove barriers to real-time financial interactions across multiple accounts in multiple marketplaces around the world,” Frazier added.

Digital ledger technology is a phrase used by some financial institutions in place of blockchain technology. There is no difference between the two, but some prefer using the former, perhaps afraid of using the term blockchain given its links to bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies.

Wells Fargo is not building its DLT or blockchain platform from scratch. Coindesk reported that the company is using R3 LLC’s Corda Enterprise platform, the paid enterprise version of R3’s blockchain technology.

The bank is not the first financial institution to launch a stablecoin. JPMorgan Chase & Co. launched JPM Coin, a stablecoin tied to the U.S. dollar, in February. Differing from what Wells Fargo is piloting, JPMorgan’s stablecoin was designed to facilitate payments between clients be it that the company itself also supports and uses JPM Coin as well.

JPM Coin has gone from strength to strength since is launch and is now supported by more than 300 banks on JPMorgan’s Interbank Information Network.

Photo: jeepersmedia/Flickr

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