Emirates NBD Goes Live on Partior DLT Settlement Network
Key points
- Emirates NBD has gone live on Partior, a distributed-ledger-based clearing and settlement network for cross-border payments.
- The bank is the first in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey region to join the Partior network.
- Partior uses blockchain to expedite correspondent banking processes and predates the BIS Project Agorá.
- The deployment is operational rather than a pilot or proof of concept.
- Emirates NBD's regional first-mover status suggests it is positioning for faster cross-border settlement services.
Emirates NBD has gone live on Partior, a distributed-ledger-based clearing and settlement network for cross-border payments, becoming the first bank in the Middle East, North Africa, and Turkey region to join the platform. Partior uses blockchain technology to expedite correspondent banking processes.
The move positions Emirates NBD as an early mover in tokenised settlement infrastructure within its region. Partior predates the Bank for International Settlements’ Project Agorá and shares similarities in its use of distributed ledger technology to streamline correspondent banking, though the specifics of how the two initiatives differ are not detailed in the announcement.
For operators, this marks a live deployment rather than a trial or proof of concept. The regional first-mover status suggests Emirates NBD is positioning itself to serve clients requiring faster cross-border settlement, particularly where traditional correspondent banking routes introduce delays or opacity.
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