SIA, Cattolica University (CeTIF) and Reply have completed a test for surities, or “Fideiussioni digitali,” leveraging blockchain technology. The project included the participation of the Bank of Italy, the Institute for the Supervision of Insurance (IVASS) and the Italian Finance Police. The partners have announced that the first system platform to enable sureties to be managed in the banking and insurance sectors via blockchain will happen in the second half of 2021. The test was completed within a “Sandbox” under the supervision of a Scientific Committee made up of representatives from various authorities, according to a release.
During the pilot phase, which lasted about 4 months, more than 350 sureties were said to be digitally managed with guaranteed sums ranging from €10,000 to €1.4 million, and an average amount of €275,000. The principles involved in the project predict that by incorporating distributed ledger technology sector fraud may be reduced by 30% and operating costs from between 10% to 50%.
The effectiveness and positive feedback from participants have led the partners to strive to make the platform fully operational and available at some point in the second half of 2021.