JPMorgan Chase is doubling down on its tech initiatives and digital expansion despite economic volatility.

During the $4.3 trillion bank’s first-quarter earnings call today, Chairman and Chief Executive Jamie Dimon reiterated his recession and national security concerns, following news of China’s 125% tariff on U.S. goods.

“The investment that we do in banks — in branches, technology, AI — can continue regardless of the environment,” Dimon said during the call.

THE BIG PICTURE: JPMorgan’s noninterest expenses reached $23.6 billion during the quarter, up 4% from Q1 2024, with tech spend up 6% year over year to $2.6 billion.

The bank, which is investing in quantum and AI technologies, leads FIs in developing quantum computing tech for financial services, according to a March 20 report by intelligence platform Evident AI. JPMorgan Chase and a team of researchers from Argonne National Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the University of Texas successfully demonstrated a new quantum computing protocol that generates certified randomness, a crucial resource for cryptography and privacy applications, the bank announced March 26.

The financial institution is expanding its presence in the embedded finance space, leveraging AI for fraud detection and KYC, Ron Karpovich, J.P. Morgan Payments managing director and head of client solutioning for embedded finance and solutions, told Bank Automation News. The bank on March 24 announced the launch of an embedded finance solution to speed up payments for merchants using Walmart Marketplace.

While the bank has the resources to invest in its own payments solutions, it plans to use fintech partnerships, Karpovich said.

In Q1, J.P. Morgan Payments announced:

• The expansion of its commerce platform in the United Kingdom and Europe through a partnership with PayPal;
• The addition of Affirm financing to its commerce platform; and
• The addition of Klarna’s BNPL service to its commerce platform.
• Payments revenue in Q1 was $4.6 billion, up 2% YoY.

BY THE NUMBERS: JPMorgan Chase in Q1 also reported:

• $45.3 billion in total net revenue, up 8% YoY;
• Headcount of 318,477, up 2% YoY;
• 72.5 million active digital users, up 6% YoY; and
• 59 million active mobile users, up 8% YoY.

MARKET REACTION: Shares of JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM) were up 4.3% from market open to $236.80 as of 3:02 p.m. today. JPMorgan has a market capitalization of $658.3 billion.