Hong Kong's de facto central bank will initiate a trade finance platform underwritten by blockchain. The enterprise will bring together 21 banks.
The Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA) is set to roll out a blockchain-based trade finance platform. The platform is linked to 21 banks including HSBC and Standard Chartered, according to the «Financial Times» (behind paywall).
The platform, which will be owned by the banks that have partnered with the regulator, is expected to reduce time and paper work related to trade finance and supply-chain finance transactions.
Potential Benefits
Blockchain, an open, distributed ledger that can record transactions between two parties efficiently and in a verifiable and permanent way, makes it easy to verify each step of the process and confirm the credentials of the parties involved.
«The aims of the platform are to reduce frauds related to trade finance and double financing, and therefore lead to increased credit availability and lowered financing costs in the long run. This may in turn help small and medium-sized enterprises access to trade financing,» an HKMA spokesman told finews.asia.
