Kinexys by JP Morgan partners with Nacha to pre-validate bank accounts

Kinexys Liink will become one of the validation solutions offered by Phixius by Nacha. The National Automated Clearing House Association

JP Morgan's blockchain division, Kinexys, has partnered with Phixius by Nacha to help pre-validate bank accounts before making US payments using the Automated Clearing House (ACH) network.

As part of the partnership, Kinexys Liink will become one of the validation solutions offered by Phixius by Nacha. The National Automated Clearing House Association (Nacha) manages the ACH payment network, one of the primary payment rails in the United States. Phixius is an API that enables banks to access validation information from ten different solutions.

Many people make errors when they send a payment. As payments get faster, the need to ensure the payment recipient is the correct one has become a global requirement. It’s expensive for banks if they route the payment inaccurately because of incorrect details.

One of the features of Kinexys Liink is Confirm, an account validation service that allows for the validation of billions of bank accounts around the world.

It’s been almost eight years since JP Morgan launched Liink, which was originally called the Interbank Information Network. The original aim of the permissioned blockchain data sharing network was to address compliance queries, especially across borders.

The Kinexys – Nacha collaboration is a two way relationship. Kinexys Liink will use Phixiius for its US account validation. And Phixius users can use Liink to validate global bank accounts.

"Kinexys Liink and Phixius customers can benefit by validation services using data provided by either network, helping to mitigate payment fraud and reduce potential ACH returns," said Rob Unger, Managing Director of ACH Network Development at Nacha.

"We are pleased to welcome Kinexys Liink as a validation solution within Phixius," added April Harris, Vice President, Product Management at Nacha. "This partnership provides additional value to both Phixius and Liink customers as they navigate the evolving payments landscape."

"We are excited to partner with Nacha to integrate Kinexys Liink's Confirm service into Phixius," said Paul Haslag, Head of Kinexys. "This collaboration will streamline the account validation process for US-based banks and financial institutions using Phixius, and it underscores our commitment to fostering a seamless and efficient cross-border payments ecosystem."

Kinexys is the blockchain division of JP Morgan, operating in parallel to its consumer and investment banking units. It's focused on blockchain use cases in payments, trade finance and capital markets.

Meanwhile, the highest profile Kinexys offering is Digital Payments (formerly JPM Coin), a blockchain-based token that can be used to make instant and low-cost payments in multiple currencies. Kinexys also supports intraday repurchase agreements (repo), tokenized collateral and bond issuance.