In India, Banking Banks On Blockchain

FinTech linkups continue, where banks and smaller firms are helping their larger, usually traditional financial brethren navigate digital payments and technological challenges.

The examples span the globe. In India, Infosys said that it has formed a blockchain with seven banks, to be known as India Trade Connect. The banks include IndusInd Bank, RBL Bank and Axis Bank, among others. Infosys stated that “the network is being used by the banks to run a successful pilot of Finacle Trade Connect, a blockchain technology-based solution developed specifically to address the trade finance process requirements of banks.”

The firms said that risk management and transparency will be part of the network, with an eye on digitizing business processes.

Separately, The Manila Times reports that UnionBank, which hails from the Philippines, has taken a “significant jump toward the future” and unveiled a fully digital branch, its first. That branch even has a name: The Ark. The online publication noted that the branch, paperless in nature, has self-service kiosks, virtual reality boxes and, perhaps not surprisingly, internet connectivity. Ambassadors, replacing tellers, tote iPads that process account openings in just 10 minutes, where the bank had previously taken an hour to conduct such activity.

In Japan, expansionary news comes as the two banking units of Kansai Mirai Financial Group – the Kansai Urban Banking Corporation and The Minato Bank – have linked with a Philippines-based lender, Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation. The trio will focus on an expansion portfolio that spans tax and accounting in the Philippines.

Also in Asia, this time in China, Computop, the payment service provider, has announced a partnership with eCommerce-focused ChinaPay. Under the terms of the deal, the duo will provide global payments services, focused on Chinese merchant transactions, to customers outside of China. The companies said in a release that Computop will provide its payment platform, Computop Paygate, which will let customers use alternative payment methods during eCommerce transactions in their domestic currencies.

Alternative payment methods range from Giropay to SOFORT Banking to Przelewy24 to Skrill, among several others. Computop has said it offers payment processes across POS and mobile devices. Transactions can be conducted across 250 payment methods, the companies said.