Axis Bank goes live with 24/7 USD clearing via Kinexys Digital Payments
Key points
- Axis Bank is the first India-headquartered financial institution to offer near-real-time, 24/7 programmable USD clearing for commercial clients, live since 26 March 2025.
- The service runs on Kinexys Digital Payments, J.P. Morgan's blockchain-based settlement network.
- Programmable rails let corporate treasurers attach settlement conditions and automate reconciliation across time zones, extending optionality beyond correspondent banking windows.
- The deployment signals Indian banks treating tokenised deposit infrastructure as a competitive wedge in corporate FX and trade finance, with peers likely to follow within quarters.
Axis Bank has become the first India-headquartered financial institution to offer near-real-time, round-the-clock programmable USD clearing for commercial clients, working with Kinexys Digital Payments, J.P. Morgan‘s blockchain-based settlement network. The service went live on 26 March 2025.
The move extends cross-border settlement optionality for Indian corporates beyond legacy correspondent banking windows. Programmable payment rails allow corporate treasurers to attach settlement conditions or automate reconciliation, reducing manual intervention in trade finance and supply-chain flows that span multiple time zones.
Axis’s deployment signals that Indian banks are treating tokenised deposit infrastructure as a competitive wedge in corporate FX and trade finance rather than a pilot curiosity. Other Tier 1 Indian lenders appear likely to announce parallel capabilities within quarters, compressing the window for first-mover advantage.
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