IBM Introduces ‘Blockchain World Wire’, Its Stellar-Powered Near Real-Time Cross-Border Payments Solution
IBM has quietly introduced "Blockchain World Wire", what it calls "the new financial rail that can simultaneously clear and settle cross-border payments in near real-time", and a product that has the chance to become a competitor to Ripple's xRapid.
The process of making a cross-border payment using Blockchain World Wire (which uses the Stellar protocol) has the following steps:
- "Two financial institutions transacting together agree to use a stable coin, central bank digital currency or other digital asset as the bridge asset between any two fiat currencies."
- "The institutions use their existing payment systems – seamlessly connected to World Wire’s APIs – to convert the first fiat currency into the digital asset."
- "World Wire then simultaneously converts the digital asset into the second fiat currency, completing the transaction." ("All transaction details are recorded onto an immutable blockchain for clearing.")
IBM claims Blockchain World Wire has the following advantages over traditional payment solutions:
- Faster Payment Processing (simultaneous clearing and settlement)
- Lower Costs (reduced capital requirements for cross-border transactions)
- Increased Efficiency (one exchange fee between all currencies)
- Supports payments of any size, in any asset type, to any destination