Dutch Bank ABN AMRO Launches Blockchain Inventory Tracking Platform ‘Forcefield’

Dutch bank ABN AMRO announced that it is launching a blockchain inventory tracking platform dubbed Forcefield in a press release published on May 17.

Per the announcement, the platform is an Internet of Things solution that allows the monitoring of physical trade inventories with sensors and near-field communication chips.

Forcefield was developed over the past year as a stand-alone product and became an independent company following a successful proof-of-concept that was conducted with consulting firm Accenture.

The bank claims that the system can lead to more secure physical handling processes and a reduction of costs in the management of commodities that are used as collateral for loans.

ABN AMRO Managing Director of Trade and Commodity Finance Karin Kersten said that the platform will strengthen the commodity trading supply chain:

“Parties involved will benefit from more effective controls, greater efficiency, transparency and traceability.”

Lastly, the announcement notes that — besides ABN AMRO — Accenture, Anglo American, CMST International, Hartree Partners, ING Bank, Macquarie, Mercuria and OCBC Bank have signed a Memorandum of Understanding to launch Forcefield.

As Cointelegraph reported earlier today, ABN AMRO abandoned its plans to launch a custodial bitcoin (BTC) wallet dubbed “Wallie” because of risk concerns. An ABN AMRO press officer said that the bank “concluded that cryptocurrencies because of their unregulated nature are at the moment too risky assets for our clients to invest in.”