New Delhi (Sputnik) — India has put in place its first ever blockchain-based trade finance network with seven banks being part of it. The network named "India Trade Connect" has been installed by Indian tech company Infosys Finacle, a subsidiary of Infosys.
The participating banks in the network are Axis Bank, ICICI Bank, IndusInd Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, RBL Bank, South Indian Bank and Yes Bank. The network will be used by the banks to run a successful pilot of the blockchain technology-based solution developed specifically to address the trade finance process requirements of banks to enable increased automation and transparency.
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"The network will create new business opportunities for participating banks while eliminating the inefficiencies in the existing trade processes and enabling everyone involved in a transaction to have a single source of the truth," Sanat Rao, chief business officer, Infosys Finacle, claimed in a press statement.
With multiple banking credit scams hitting the Indian economy recently, the network is pitched at making banking decisions in India more informed as the banks involved in a transaction will now be aware of the exact position of a bill as well as the exposure of the corporation with its respective partner bank through the blockchain technology.
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The blockchain based network allows for the instant transfer of messages and documents between the parties involved in a completely secure manner, reducing the lifecycle turnaround time.
The development comes after Finance Minister of India Arun Jaitley told the nation's parliament while reading his budget speech in February this year that while the country does not recognize cryptocurrency as a legal tender, it will make efforts to make the best use of the blockchain technology in the greater interest of transparency and efficiency.
