Thai banks carry out cross-border transactions using blockchain
The Bank of Ayudhya PCL of Thailand successfully conducted an international transaction with a bank in Singapore using a blockchain, announced Tuesday.
The bank, also known as Krungsri, said it has shipped internationally in real time with MUFG Bank, Mitsubishi Corporation and Standard Chartered Bank (Singapore) using the Krungsri Blockchain Interledger. Specifically, the bank used its blockchain to facilitate a transfer from Mitsubishi Krungsri's account to its Standard Chartered account, according to a press release.
The use of this technology in the future will enable Mitsubishi, and presumably other companies, to "further improve the efficiency of liquidity management and reduce its cost management," the bank said.
Krungsri Consumer Group and director of innovation and digital banking, Thakorn Piyapan, said the successful test helped the bank gain Mitsubishi's confidence by adding,
"Successfully completed in a matter of seconds, the technology-based transaction helps increase the financial liquidity of its subsidiaries for greater flexibility and efficiency."
The bank has already tested its blockchain on an international test in September 2017, according to the statement.
Bank of Ayudhya is also testing Ripple's xCurrent blockchain to also transfer payments between Thailand and Singapore, as previously reported. As with its own blockchain platform, the bank hopes to test "high-speed cross-border payments between independent banks."
Earlier this week, Banco Masventas in Argentina also tested a cross-border payment - although it specifically used bitcoin through the Bitex encryption startup to facilitate the transaction.