New global trade platform based on blockchain technology – First transactions in early 2018

Erste Group, Bank of Montreal, CaixaBank and Commerzbank have joined the initiative started by UBS and IBM in 2016 to create a new global trade platform based on blockchain technology.

This new platform, called Batavia, is built to be openly accessed by organizations of all sizes anywhere in the world, and can support trade finance for transactions across all modes of trade, whether goods are being transported by air, land or sea, the joint press release says.

Batavia advances the work initiated by UBS and IBM to develop a trade finance platform built on the IBM Blockchain Platform powered by the Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain framework. The development work is being done collaboratively by the five banks and IBM in consultation with transportation industry experts as well as the banks’ customers to ensure that the platform is flexible and intuitive for customers and can be commercialized.

Batavia will allow transacting parties to view the progress of a shipment as it leaves the warehouse, is loaded onto a plane, truck or boat and arrives at the receiving port, automatically releasing payments incrementally along each step of the process, the press release adds.

Batavia is targeting pilot transactions with customers on the network in early 2018.

Erste Bank a.d. Novi Sad

ERSTE BANK-AUSTRIJA

Erste Group

Bank of Montreal

CaixaBank

Commerzbank

UBS

IBM

trade platform Batavia

Batavia

blockchain technology

Hyperledger Fabric Blockchain

trade finance