Alibaba’s payment affiliate Ant Financial is “definitely” looking into using blockchain to underpin its mobile payments platform Alipay, CEO Eric Jing has told CNBC, adding that artificial intelligence and blockchain will be “deeply” integrated into Ant Financial’s operations... More
Blockchain
Call to ‘digitise Indian rupee’ using blockchain
“The time is ripe” for the adoption of blockchain technology in India, according to the Reserve Bank of India’s research arm which believes the technology has the potential to digitise the country’s fiat currency... More
Royal Mint to develop blockchain for gold trade
The UK’s Royal Mint is working with derivatives marketplace CME Group to develop a new gold trading system using blockchain technology... More
Mastercard blockchain patent applications
Mastercard has filed patent applications describing systems and methods for authorising and securing blockchain transactions using existing payment networks... More
Dutch bank in logistics blockchain project
Dutch bank ABN Amro is working with Delft University of Technology and 14 other partners to launch a two-year project to apply blockchain technology to the logistics sector... More
R3 investment details take shape
Blockchain consortium R3 has reduced the amount it aims to raise from bank members in its first large round of equity funding to US$150m from US$200m, Reuters reports... More
NFC and blockchain combined to create supply chain security solution
Pharmaceuticals, fine art and forensic evidence could be secured along their supply chains by a new identity and authentication prototype, incorporating NFC chips and blockchain registration and verification, unveiled by US blockchain and internet of things firm Chronicled... More
OCBC bank in local and cross-border blockchain payments trial
Singapore’s OCBC Bank says it has become the first bank in South East Asia to use blockchain technology in national and international payments... More
PwC in digital currency project for everyday banking
Global consultancy firm PwC has joined forces with US blockchain technology outfit Bloq to create a platform allowing digital currencies to be used for everyday banking... More
UK bank celebrates blockchain contactless payments trial
Metro Bank in the UK has successfully trialled a blockchain retail payment system, allowing consumers to make purchases from merchants equipped with contactless terminals, with merchant and consumer balances updated in real time... More
IBM in blockchain project with Singapore fintech startup
IBM has announced a blockchain project with Singapore fintech startup KYCK... More
Indonesian mobile wallet joins with blockchain money transfer network
Hong Kong-based blockchain money transfer network OKLink has teamed up with Doku, an Indonesian mobile wallet, to provide customers with cheap, real-time money transfers... More
R3 develops KYC registry using blockchain
Blockchain consortium R3 and 10 of its member banks have developed a proof-of-concept Know Your Customer (KYC) registry using distributed ledger technology to address the “challenges associated with satisfying regulatory requirements” and allowing identities to be managed by their owners... More
Fashion brand adds NFC and blockchain for authentic personal clothing
Fashion brand Babyghost has partnered with Chinese blockchain-as-a-service company BitSE and its VeChain project to deliver a range of clothes incorporating NFC tags and verified using blockchain technology... More
Microsoft in blockchain trial for travel booking website
Australian travel booking website Webjet has teamed up with Microsoft to develop a blockchain proof-of-concept solution for online booking services... More
Nordic bank to use blockchain for money transfers
Nordic bank SEB has signed an agreement with distributed financial technology provider Ripple to use the company’s blockchain technology solution as a basis for payment transactions... More
Half of global banking customers use fintech services, but trust remains low
Half of banking customers around the world are using the products or services of at least one fintech firm, according to the first World FinTech Report (WFTR) from Capgemini and LinkedIn, but customer trust in fintech providers is low... More
Mastercard adds blockchain APIs to developer site
Mastercard has added blockchain APIs to its developer site to “facilitate new commerce opportunities for the digital transfer of value”, following Visa’s announcement last month it aims to pilot its B2B Connect system next year after working with blockchain developer Chain... More
Nine out of 10 commercial banks exploring blockchain for payments, survey finds
Nine out of 10 US, European and Canadian commercial banks are exploring the use of blockchain technology for payments, according to a survey of 32 top banking professionals by Accenture... More
Blockchain NFC start-up focuses on expansion after $10m funding
Canadian payments start-up NanoPay has completed a US$10m Series A funding round... More