IDRBT completes first end-to-end test of the blochchain technology with banks

Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT), an arm of Reserve Bank of India, has completed the first ever end-to-end test of the blochchain technology in a project involving regulators, banks, financial institutions and clearing houses.

IDRBT conducted the project using the technology behind bitcoin in a trade application with banks and the National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI).

The technology partner for the project was New York-based MonetaGo, which provided the actual platform for test cases including payments with its proprietary enhanced information payments system (EIPS) and trade finance. In an interview to TOI, Jesse Chenard, CEO, MonetaGo, said that the project was believed to be the first ever end-to-end test of blockchain using existing banking protocols, including regulators, banks, financial institutions and clearing houses.

According to Chenard, it is still too early for the network effect to kick in for use of BCT. “Most bank experiments to date have been either with single institutions or with only a couple of parties to a transaction. And then again, those have been in closed sandbox environments that were deployed simply for testing purposes,” he said.

MonetaGo provides blockchain solutions to financial institutions and central banks. It also helps institutions identify and deploy software that integrates with existing banking systems, processes, and settlement mechanisms. “By using existing infrastructure and protocols instead of replacing them, we help our customers quickly get up-and-running without having to change their whole systems,” said Chenard.