On Tuesday, blockchain trade platform we.trade announced it has completed seven real-time customer transactions by 10 companies on its platform across five countries. Founded earlier this year, we.trade was established by Deutsche Bank, HSBC, KBC, Natixis, Nordea, Rabobank, Santander, Societe Generale and UniCredit to address the expectations of their customers to make cross-border trade more straightforward.
According to we.trade, the company’s solution was built on the IBM Blockchain Platform, powered by Hyperledger Fabric, and offers customers access to a user-interface. While sharing more details about the platform, Chief Operating Officer at we.trade, Roberto Mancone, stated:
“The we.trade platform is a live, blockchain based trade platform. These transactions prove that we.trade is a robust and commercially viable proposition. We are delighted to have launched for the first time in the world, a blockchain based platform that enhances the overall customer experience, when trading internationally. The next step will be getting buy-in from additional banks and their customers in Europe and further afield.”
Hubert Benoot, Head of Trade at KBC and Chairman of the we.trade Board of Directors, also commented:
“This live trade is a massive achievement for all involved. Not only has we.trade built a technical solution, it has also managed to create real collaboration across multiple banks and increased the connectivity of the trade ecosystem. This really is collaboration at its finest.”
Parm Sangha, GBS Blockchain Leader of IBM, added:
“As we.trade has moved from pilot applications to conducting live transactions across borders, it has demonstrated the power of blockchain technology in an enterprise setting. To convene a large network of regulated banks and demonstrate how blockchain technology can help them gain efficiencies and provide greater transparency in live transactions is a disruptive model that has the potential to reshape the future of global trade finance.”
we.trade is now available across eleven European countries: Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the UK.