JPMorgan Chase & Co. is in the early stages of exploring a blockchain-based digital deposit token for speeding up cross-border payments and settlement, according to a person familiar with the work.

The U.S.'s biggest bank by assets has developed most of the underlying infrastructure needed to run the new form of payment but won't actually create the token unless the project is approved by U.S. regulators, according to the person, who asked not to be named because the matter is private. The bank may launch the product for use by corporate clients less than a year after it receives the go-ahead, the person said.

Deposit tokens are transferable digital coins that represent a deposit claim against a commercial bank. Essentially, they are a digital version of the deposits that customers hold in their accounts. Because transactions using these coins are processed on blockchain rails, settlement is instantaneous, and proponents of the novel form of money suggest it may make transactions cheaper as well.