DBS and Standard Chartered to launch blockchain platform to curb trade finance fraud

The Singapore-based multinational banking entity DBS and Standard Chartered have completed the proof-of-concept of their blockchain trade finance platform called the Trade Finance Registry.

The two entities developed the PoC in collaboration with 12 other banks on top of the blockchain platform of Singapore-headquartered company Dltledgers.

Dltledgers told Cointelegraph that the banks involved in the project now intend to launch the platform for commercial use by central banks around the globe.

While the platform will first be used by the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the entities involved in the project also plan to propose it to central banks from the United States, the United Kingdon, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates, India, Hong Kong, Qatar and Indonesia.

Backed by Enterprise Singapore — a government enterprise under the Ministry of Trade and Industry — and the Association of Banks in Singapore, the trade finance platform is expected to help banks fight fraud in lending and commodity trade.

According to Dltledgers founder Samir Neji, the platform uses the company's blockchain-based TradeDoc Validation Registry to help banks detect fraud in real time.

DBS and Standard Chartered said in a statement that the pilot test helped reduce the chances of duplicate financing from different bank lenders for the same trade inventory. This, they added, will lead to greater trust and confidence among banks and traders.

This is only the latest effort by DBS in using blockchain to digitize trade finance. Only four months ago, the bank joined the blockchain network Contour, built over R3’s Corda, in order to modernize processes for the settlement of letters of credit.