Spain’s CaixaBank has become one of the first Europeanbanks allowing companies to access blockchain technology by adding we.trade toits service catalogue.
The Spanish financial services firm, which isconsidered one of the highest-rated banks in the world based on the quality ofits digital products and services, has successfully implemented the we.tradeblockchain platform for companies to assist them in internationalising theirbusiness.
Developed by a consortium of 15 European financialinstitutions, the we.trade platform provides speed, simplicity, and securityfor all the involved parties conducting international transactions. Theplatform generates smart contracts, preventing any default risk for companiesthat may contribute to driving the internationalisation of many firms’ business.Moreover, it simplifies the transaction process for suppliers and buyers in astreamlined and collaborative way on a single shared platform, improving theircash management and planning.
InOctober 2018, CaixaBank announced that it, alongside Erste Group and UBS,had joined we.trade as banking partners and shareholders, alongside the nine existingbanks at the time, including Deutsche Bank, HSBC, and Santander.
In July, a new blockchain platform, Lygon, was launched by a group of five institutions consisting Australian shopping centre company Scentre Group, financial service firm Westpac, Commonwealth Bank, Australia and New Zealand Banking Group (ANZ), along with IBM. Lygon digitises the issuance and management of bank guarantees in the retail property lease industry. During the same time, Hapag-Lloyd and Singapore-based Ocean Network Express (ONE) announced joining the blockchain-enabled digital shipping platform TradeLens, which is developed by Maersk and IBM.
