HSBC leads the first cross-border blockchain based letter of credit named Renminbi

Just as some of its competitors, HSBC has searched for the opportunity to use blockchain technology to optimize international trade funding which as of today has only been performed through paper operations and bureaucratic procedures.

Because it is the first operation using Chinese currency, it is considered pioneer in the usage of the international trade funding platform Voltron that was developed by eight Banks of which HSBC, BNP Paribas and Standard Chartered have been part of.

Until now, the operations that have been performed using the platform have been limited to individual pilot testing. Nevertheless, Ajay Sharma, International Trade and Account Receivables Financing APAC Regional Director at HSBC, expressed that some improvements that will enable banks to offer a complete proposal of what can may become an acceptable commercial model have been achieved.

This operation in particular involved the shipment of LCD panels and other components from MTC Elec-tronic Company headquarters in Hong Kong to its head office in Shenzhen MTC located cross border from Hong Kong.

The electronic document exchange was performed in 24 hours in comparison with the usual 5 to 10 days that are required, the bank explained.

Reporter: Alun John, (Reuters).

Click this link for more information.