Australian banks bet on Blockchain technology, Plans to Launch blockchain-based retail financing

Three big Australian banks intend to launch the world’s first ever blockchain-based retail financing, Reuters reported. The banks will conduct a pilot of a new bank guarantee platform for shop owners that use a shared database.

The three banks involved in the project are New Zealand Banking Group Ltd, Commonwealth Bank of Australia, and Westpac Banking Corp. These banks will partner with local vendors including Westfield mall owner Scentre Group to carry out the test on the software provided by IBM. The software will process financing contracts on the same network.

If the test is successful then the manual paperwork for these banks will be replaced by blockchain; cutting down processing time and eliminate the risk of any fraud.

The new project will mark a step toward banks and clients embracing the blockchain technology.

Reuters report suggests that a top-level executive from ANZ’s digital banking unit said that- “Based on some of the inquiries and feedback we’ve had through other financial institutions and also through IBM’s network, this is a first”.

Currently, the use of blockchain is growing fast but hackers use it as resistant to steal money which is processed by a single computer since it involves storing records in multiple locations. World’s biggest social media platform, Facebook last week revealed its own cryptocurrency launch.

Different Banks across the world including Commonwealth, Westpac and No. 4 Australian lender National Australia Bank, have invested in blockchain developer R3 LLC.