Qatar’s Commercial Bank Completes Blockchain Pilot
Commercial Bank, Qatar’s largest private bank, has successfully completed a pilot test on its cloud-based blockchain network designed to process international remittances.
The project, developed in collaboration with Infosys Finacle, part of EdgeVerve Systems, saw the bank partner with several of its subsidiaries and associated banks in conducting transactions over the system.
Commercial Bank, along with its subsidiary Alternatifbank in Turkey and its associates National Bank of Oman in Oman and United Arab Bank (UAB) in the UAE, have formed a grid for routing cross border business transactions across the India-GCC corridor.
The initiative claims it has the potential to offer the FI the ability to automate inter-organizational processes to reduce the risk of fraud; use paperless finance transactions to simplify processes; and deal with customer payment requests on a real-time basis.
The next phase of the project will focus on trade finance transactions, particularly the transmission of secure documents and smart contracts.
“This pilot has demonstrated the immense potential of blockchain to provide the best customer experience for our clients and given us a glimpse of what more we could do on this powerful platform,” said Commercial Bank CEO Joseph Abraham. “We are delighted with the success of this pilot across the Commercial Bank Group and want to expand our cluster to form closed group networks for trade and cash transactions with more banks in South Asia, Egypt, Philippines, UAE and other countries with higher transaction volumes. We hope to leverage what is quickly becoming the largest emerging consortium, in terms of transactions, and offer a wider range of products and services to individuals and organisations alike, on this platform.”
Infosys Finacle chief business officer and global head Sanat Rao said that the adoption of a cloud-based blockchain network by the Commercial Bank Group is a pioneering step, where they will automate the remittances and trade finance processes to deliver significant cost savings and enhanced customer experience. “We are looking forward to expand on the current use cases and develop this pilot as a model for other progressive banking groups,” said Rao.
