An Indian bank has partnered with Deloitte to use Blockchain to reduce trade finance processes from weeks to hours.
Kotak Mahindra Bank, a private institution, used Blockchain technology to offer letters of credit (LCs) in “a few hours” rather than “20 to 30 days,” local news resource The Economic Times reports.
JPMorgan Singapore was the partner bank for the international transactions.
“In an evolving digital ecosystem, while instant money transfers have progressed significantly, trade finance in India has a lot of catching up to do,” President of Corporate Institutional and Investment Banking at Kotak Mahindra Bank KVS Manian said.
"In the Indian context, banks are experimenting with blockchain applications in various areas of transactions journey and processes, including paper intensive processes of Trade Finance and Supply Chain financing segments, which are ripe for disruption. Our proof of concept transaction will change the narrative hereon.”
Despite confused regulatory approaches to decentralized innovation in India, enthusiasm even for Bitcoin itself continues unabated.
Major exchange Zebpay recently not only announced it had passed 500,000 downloads of its wallet app but that it was onboarding 2,500 new users every day.
The State Bank of India has, meanwhile, encouraged the use of Blockchain with regard to data sharing, streamlining the documents process under a scheme it dubbed “Bankchain.”