JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup Vie to Capture Tokenized Payment Rails

JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup are intensifying their long-standing rivalry by shifting global payment flows to blockchain-based systems.

A report Monday (April 20) from Bloomberg News examines the diverging strategies of the two banking giants, getting insights from a pair of their executives: Umar Farooq, global co-head of JPMorgan Payments, and Shahmir Khaliq, global head of services at Citigroup.

Khaliq explained that the core mission is solving the “ability for large multinationals, big banks and broker-dealers and fintechs to be able to move their money around, make payments seamlessly around the world 24/7.”

To achieve this, Citigroup has teamed up with Coinbase while expanding its own Citi Token Services, which Khaliq says gives the bank a “leg up in how we execute that strategy.”

JPMorgan has primarily focused on its in-house Kinexys platform, which processes more than $5 billion in daily transactions using deposit tokens such as JPM Coin, which the bank has called a “superior alternative” to stablecoins.

Farooq told Bloomberg he is more cautious about stablecoins, arguing that their issuers “should be regulated more like banks” and that “If you’re taking the same sort of risk, you should have the same sort of regs.”

He also noted that while bank-led deposit tokens integrate decades of compliance infrastructure, some stablecoin issuers may take a “lightweight” approach to crucial controls like know your customer (KYC).

Despite their tactical differences, both executives see a massive shift on the horizon, especially given the rise of agentic commerce, where AI agents transact autonomously.

“If I look five years out, this is a world that is going to change radically, driven by AI and blockchain,” said Khaliq.

While these digital volumes are currently a small fraction of the trillions handled daily on traditional systems, both banks say they are positioned for a future where money is increasingly tokenized and programmable, the report added.

PYMNTS explored Citi’s blockchain efforts last year in a conversation with Biswarup Chatterjee, global head of partnerships and innovation, Citi Services.

“What really excited us,” Chatterjee said, “is the fact that we are able to integrate [blockchain] into our operating model … create a 24/7, always-on, on-demand ecosystem for our clients. But the key word is integration.”

He framed the bank’s approach around a simple but crucial distinction: blockchain as a technology rather than blockchain-native instruments. While public attention often focuses on assets like cryptocurrencies or stablecoins, Citi’s strategic focus has been more foundational.

“For us it’s about the technology and its benefits, and then the types of instruments,” he said. “We’re very focused more on the technology. Here is an ecosystem that is natively digital. You can get and use structured data out of this ecosystem very efficiently.”