Today, the trade finance blockchain Contour announced a partnership with IntellectEU to help banks and corporates to integrate with the network. Contour, which incorporated earlier this year, was founded by seven banks including HSBC, ING and Standard Chartered and now has ten members, including Citi, which joined three months ago.
Belgium-based IntellectEU provides emerging technology services for the financial sector. Its clients include Belfius, Capital One, KBC, SWIFT, Euroclear, and ASX. It also has significant customers in the U.S. and Latin America which are under NDA. It’s a founding member of Hyperledger and works with R3, Digital Asset, VMWare, and IBM in the banking, insurance, capital markets, and telecoms spaces.
Contour, previously known as Voltron or Letter of Credit (LoC) blockchain, is digitizing trade processes to automate back-office work. Letters of credit extensively use paper documents such as the bill of lading. The paperwork is couriered separately to the shipment, leading to delays and increasing the risk of fraud. A survey run by the group found that 86% said that LoC’s are overly reliant on paperwork.
Article continues …
Want the full story? Pro subscribers get complete articles, exclusive industry analysis, and early access to legislative updates that keep you ahead of the competition. Join the professionals who are choosing deeper insights over surface level news.
