Australian big banks joining the blockchain revolution | The Islander

At a bleak time in the world due to COVID pandemic lockdowns and border closures, there is hope on the horizon in the shape of new groundbreaking, digital financial technologies.

Two of Australia’s big banks, the Commonwealth Bank of Australia and ANZ, are working with leading Singapore-based blockchain company XinFin on its mission to boost automation and transparency in trade asset and risk distribution.

XinFin’s XDC Network is a highly interoperable, hybrid blockchain platform that supports global trade and finance.

A first-of-its-kind, public-private hybrid blockchain platform, XDC Network brings energy-efficient smart contract and digital asset technology to the trade investment class.

XDC Network has been selected as the first blockchain company to join the global Trade Finance Distribution (TFD) Initiative, a consortium of trade originators, credit insurers, and institutional funders, including the two big Aussie banks.

The Australian financial sector meanwhile continues to embrace new technologies with payment giant eftpos, which represents all the big banks, sitting on the governing council of Texas based technology company Hedera.

Both XDC Network and Hedera are at the forefront of new technologies that aim to transform the financial sector as we know it.

XDC Network was selected to join the TFD Initiative by fintech veteran André Casterman, whose impressive track record includes over 20 years at SWIFT, leading various technology innovations in inter-bank payments, corporate payments, corporate treasury, and trade finance.

Mr Casterman is chairman of the Fintech Committee at International Trade and Forfaiting Association (ITFA) and is responsible for spearheading the TFD Initiative.

He welcomed the involvement of XDC Network.

“TFD Initiative provides the most comprehensive set of trade distribution capabilities,” he said.

“We welcome XinFin’s XDC Network to TFD Initiative as this enables us to bridge the US$19 trillion trade finance asset class with any type of funder through tokenisation and digital assets.”

To establish trade as an investment class, TFD Initiative is working to define new technology-based market practices and transaction data specifications, with the goal of increasing the accessibility and transparency of trade flows.

This will create a more robust trade finance ecosystem where banks can reach new types of funders, like institutional investors and family offices.

The TFD Initiative, whose members include major global financial institutions and leading service providers such as ABN AMRO, Santander Asset Management, ING Bank, SMBC, ANZ, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, Texel Group, NN Investment Partners and more, recognises the vital role blockchain will play in shaping the future of the trade finance sector, which has already been successfully implemented in other areas of finance.

Leveraging the power of cryptographic tokens, the XDC Network allows for the digitisation, tokenisation, and swift settlement of trade transactions, reducing reliance on complex foreign exchange infrastructures.

Some of the key advantages include lower transaction fees (near zero), less energy consumption, efficient confirmation time, double validation, and randomisation for security guarantees.

Atul Khekade, co-founder of XDC Network, said the potential was great.

“Utility networks, like the XDC Network, will help lay the tracks for a new digital economy and develop standards for tokenized trade finance distribution, giving organizations increased exposure to emerging markets,” Mr Khekade said

“XDC brings new sources of liquidity, via our smart contract technology to global trade finance. Joining TFD Initiative enables us to work closely with a series of bank and non-bank originators and contribute to closing the SME financing gap.”

Sarah Green, Law Commissioner for England and Wales, said emerging technologies, such as distributed ledgers, were being promoted as a way to create smart contracts: computer programs which run automatically, in whole or in part, without the need for human intervention.

“Smart contracts are expected to increase efficiency and certainty in business and reduce the need for contracting parties to have to trust each other; the trust resides instead in the code,” she said.

“To ensure that the jurisdiction of England and Wales remains a competitive choice for business, there is a compelling case for reviewing the current legal framework in England and Wales to ensure that it facilitates the use of smart contracts.”

An initial set of SME-focused supply chain finance platforms powered by XDC on the back of the TFD Initiative will be announced in the coming weeks.

SOURCE: XinFin XDC Network

The author of this report owns XDC, HBAR and a number of other cryptocurrencies and digital assets.