ING has recently announced it has joined a consortium of 30 leading global banks, coordinated by the financial technology firm R3, to collaboratively evaluate and apply emerging blockchain technology to the global financial system. The stated goals of the group are to collaborate on research, design, and engineering that will advance innovative solutions for clients that meet banking requirements for security, reliability, performance, scalability, and auditing.
Mark Buitenhek, ING Global Head of Transaction Services commented:
“We are very excited about joining the R3 consortium and taking an important step forward in our payments innovation strategy. We want to make the most of what blockchain technology has to offer our customers and the best way to achieve this is through global collaboration. Working together, we will develop innovative banking solutions for our clients with consistent standards and protocols guaranteeing widespread adoption. We are convinced that this initiative brings together unique sets of expertise and experience in electronic financial markets, distributed ledgers and blockchain technologies.”
The consortium has set out to facilitate the following initiatives:
- Develop a shared lab environment to test and validate ledger prototypes and protocols
- Produce case studies applying blockchain technology within different areas of financial services, such as trade finance importer LC, interest rate swaps and commercial paper
- Form an expert group to study possible regulatory and legal implications
The banking partnership is coordinated by Wall Street-based R3, which is made up of financial industry veterans, technologists, and tech entrepreneurs. The firm has extensive expertise in electronic financial markets, cryptography, and digital currencies.
“We now have 30 banks across the world partnering with us on this project, signaling a significant commitment to collaboratively evaluate and apply this emerging technology to the global financial system,” R3 CEO David Rutter said
BSNP Paribas, the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, ING, MacQuaire and Wells Fargo are the newest members in the consortium that now stands at 30 global financial institutions in total.
