VISA and IBM Partner For Visa B2B Connect launch

Visa has announced that it will join hands with IBM ahead of the launch of its new payments program, B2B connect. Visa B2B Connect, the payment giant’s enterprise blockchain platform that enables cross-border payments between businesses, is partnering IBM to integrate the latter’s development of the open-source Hyperledger Fabric framework.

As part of the B2B Connect platform, Visa will be integrating open source Hyperledger Fabric framework from the Linux Foundation with Visa’s core assets. This will help implement an enhanced method to expedite financial transactions on a scalable, permissioned network. The work between Visa and IBM will enable our mutual financial institutional clients and ecosystem to maximize the network.

Visa first announced the blockchain platform co-developed with blockchain industry startup Chain Inc.., as an alternative solution to global payments rail SWIFT for making large payments between businesses across borders. The service tokenizes a participant’s information including account numbers and other sensitive data with a unique identifier to facilitate faster transactions susceptible to lessen fraud. Fundamentally, cross-border corporate transactions sent through B2B Connect are processed from the bank of origin directly to the receiver at the beneficiary bank.

“When industry leaders in payments and in financial services technology work together using open source technology, the entire business landscape stands to benefit,” said Jason Kelley, general manager at IBM Blockchain Services. He added:

“IBM Blockchain Platform and Hyperledger technology are delivering real business value today and B2B Connect is one of the most powerful examples to date of how blockchain is transforming payments.”

Building on a 40-year relationship between Visa and IBM, this is a natural progression that highlights both companies’ commitment to ensuring a frictionless cross-border payment experience with the utmost security, trust, and transparency.

It’s worth noting Visa has long been touted as Bitcoin’s arch-nemesis. The comparisons in transaction speeds across the two networks have been made ad nauseam for years, and will probably go on for many to come. However, news like these should reinforce one’s trust in cryptocurrencies and blockchains.

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