Everyone in the cryptocurrency world is well aware of how BNP Paribas is actively working on blockchain technology. Things have taken an interesting turn, as the financial institution is going into co-development mode. Various clients will be invited to pilot blockchain applications with a focus on transaction banking. An exciting development for distributed ledgers, that much is certain.
The year 2016 has been all about for collaboration for BNP Paribas when it comes to blockchain technology. Earlier this year, the group conducted a Blockchain Bizhackathon, which saw considerable interest from developers all over the world.The bank is now taking things one step further, as they are eyeing several blockchain pilot programs for transaction banking.
Plenty of Blockchain Projects For BNP Paribas
To put this into perspective, BNP Paribas will be working with some prominent partners. This includes Sucafina, Solvay, and the DFDS Group, among others. Corporate transactions need a dire revamp, and distributed ledgers seem to be the right way to go. However, there is still a lot of work to be done regarding traceability and security.
BNP Paribas Head of Transaction Banking Jacques Levet told the media:
“We’re delighted with the success of this first-ever Bizhackathon, which resulted in these innovative projects, all sharing one basic feature – that they are being co-developed hand-in-hand with our clients. Based on the highly-promising blockchain technology, these projects stem from close collaboration between BNP Paribas transversal teams, our clients and Blockchain experts.”
A few details were revealed as to which types of blockchain pilots the world can expect. There is a strong focus on letters of credit, international payments, and collateral management. All of these areas have – or are close to finishing – blockchain pilot programs ready to be deployed.
In fact, the collateral management blockchain project has an internal name and is called Collat’Shaker. This project will improve efficiency in international trade transactions involving commodities. Its key selling point is providing a common status on an individual transaction to all blockchain members.
More importantly, Collat’Shaker will share and manage positions with partner sin real-time. This should help in bringing the involved parties closer together. Moreover, the platform is allegedly easy to use and provides an “efficient response” to issues the financial industry had to cope with for several years now.
Source: Finextra
Header image courtesy of Shutterstock