(31 January 2019 – India) Eleven banks in India have joined forces to launch the country’s first blockchain-linked fund for SMEs.
The banks are working to set up a live network that aims to reduce the time it takes for supply-chain financing. In its first phase, supply-chain vendors need to register themselves to digitise records.
With distributed ledger technology, banks can make the process more transparent and secure. The network also aims to give banks access to public credit data and remove the information hierarchy between large corporates and SME lenders.
The launch of the network will also help reconcile the varying technological platforms of the banks, logistics partners, customs and other entities to allow all parties to monitor the flow of trade on a single platform.
Member banks include ICICI Bank, HDFC Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, YES Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, RBL Bank and South Indian Bank. IndusInd Bank, State Bank of India and Bank of Baroda are participating in the consortium meetings as outside members.