Citi Innovation Labs has teamed up with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to test the use of blockchain technology and tokenised money to send payments from the US to Latin America and the Caribbean.
The partners carried out what they call a "successful" proof-of-concept, using the LACChain Blockchain Network to send funds from the IDB headquarters in Washington DC to a recipient in the Dominican Republic.
IDB put funds denominated in dollars in a Citi account, which were held, tokenised, and transferred using digital wallets before being converted to Dominican pesos. During the process, exchange rates, payment status, and fees were traceable and transparent via the LACChain blockchain.
Irene Hofman, CEO, IDB Lab, says: "There are many applications of inclusive cross-border payments, such as official development assistance and international remittances. There is no doubt that they are extremely important for the economies of our region and, more importantly, for final beneficiaries and families receiving remittances."