Seven banks have joined forces to develop a blockchain-based platform designed to simplify domestic and cross-border commerce for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
Representatives from the banks—Deutsche Bank, HSBC, KBC, Natixis, Rabobank, Société Générale and UniCredit—met in Brussels to sign a memorandum of understanding, agreeing to collaborate on the development and commercialisation of a new Digital Trade Chain (DTC).
DTC product based on a prototype trade finance and supply chain solution, which was created by KBC and has been tested to proof-of-concept stages.
It is intended to connect the parties involved in a trade transaction online and through mobile technology, thereby making the managing, tracking and securing of trade transactions easier.
Using distributed ledger technology, DTC will store secure records and speed up the order-to-settlement process, while also reducing the administrative burden. At the same time, the transparency that blockchain technology affords is intended to give SMEs additional confidence to trade with new partners.
The consortium members will work together to further develop and scale up DTC, and will initially focus on building a consumer base in Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK.
