Russia’s Sberbank and S7 Airlines to sell flight tickets for tokens

Sberbank, the largest state-owned bank in Russia, is working with a major domestic airline company to introduce a blockchain-based ticket sale system.

Russia’s largest bank is reportedly collaborating with S7 Airlines on a new ticket sale platform that will enable corporate clients with instant settlement through smart contracts and tokens.

According to an Aug. 26 report by local newspaper Kommersant, the new system is planned to roll out in September 2020. This would be the first time virtual tokens are used for payment and settlement in Russia, the report notes.

As reported, the new system is only targeting corporate clients at the current stage of development. The blockchain-powered system intends to cut settlement time from as many as 10 days to just 20 seconds, representatives at Sberbank and S7 reportedly said.

According to Kommersant, the new ticket sales system uses a proprietary blockchain platform that allows companies to develop their own blockchain applications as well as create smart contracts. As such, S7 Airlines has already placed its blockchain ticketing app on the platform by Sberbank, Kommersant states.

It is not immediately clear how exactly tokenization will be implemented within this new initiative. Sberbank will purportedly act as the owner of the tokenization platform, which will “tokenize money” from a corporate client's account using smart contracts. The tokens will be linked to “real accounts of clients,” an exec at S7 Airlines reportedly said. 

Sberbank did not immediately respond to Cointelegraph's request for comment. This article will be updated pending any new information.

Both Sberbank and S7 Airlines have been committed to blockchain development in recent years. Russia’s major airline firm and a member of the global aviation alliance Oneworld, S7 Airlines reportedly executed the world’s first blockchain-powered ticket purchase in collaboration with Russia's largest private bank, Alfa-Bank, back in 2017. By July 2019, the firm had processed over $1 million in payments through the platform.

Earlier in August, reports suggested that Sberbank is considering launching its own stablecoin pegged one-to-one to the Russian ruble.