CLOUD COMPUTING
measures , making it a key influencer in the world of blockchain . It has garnered interest from the likes of Lloyds Bank and JPMorgan to test a proof of concept ( PoC ) of a Swift blockchain application . This initiative is targeting another area ripe for disruption , the management of international nostro accounts ( a bank account held by a UK bank with a foreign bank , usually in the currency of that country ) in real time . There are 27 organisations involved in the testing process including Standard Chartered and Deutsche Bank . The stature of the participants is a strong indicator of the weight this new application may carry . “ The distribution ledger technology PoC supports Swift ’ s goal of making cross-border payments more efficient – a mission we have championed through Swift gpi , which offers customers fast , transparent and traceable cross-border payments ,” says Wim Raymaekers , Head of Banking Market at Swift .
Specific challenges to industry-wide adoption include the need to develop unique value propositions in response to the different levels of sophistication , automation and past investments of banks . Swift believes it is crucial that integration with legacy back office applications and co-existence with current processes is taken into account . “ Preliminary results from the distributed ledger technology PoC are positive for this use case ,” reveals Damien Vanderveken , Head of R & D at Swift . “ Significant progress has been made , but it is still early days for the latest generation of blockchain technology , and it will take time before it is mature and scalable enough for mission critical applications .”
38 January 2018