In what it claims is a Southeast Asia first, OCBC Bank has carried out a pilot using blockchain technology to transfer funds between its subsidiaries in Singapore and Malaysia.
Working with local vendor BCS Information Systems, the bank carried out a cross-border funds transfer between OCBC Bank Singapore and OCBC Malaysia. A second, local, payment was made between the bank and its Bank of Singapore unit.
OCBC says that using blockchain technology enables it to cut out payment intermediaries, making transfers between banks faster, more secure, cheaper and more transparent.
Praveen Raina, SVP, group operations and technology, says: "We hope this will be a catalyst for more banks to adopt the blockchain technology so that, together, we can achieve efficiency and cost effectiveness while delivering more high-value financial services to our consumers."