A group of 42 Italian Banks has joined the Spunta blockchain project by the R3 blockchain network, which aims to reconcile the current traditional interbank process that banks use for transactions.
The process has been referred to as ineffective and lacks a standardized procedure and communication method.
Spunta Banca DLT is a private permissioned blockchain solution developed for the Italian banking ecosystem to make it more efficient, faster, transparent, and less labor-intensive. It is powered by R3’s Corda Enterprise, the commercialized blockchain version of R3’s Corda technology.
The application accomplishes this by verifying the matching process that Italian banks use for corresponding accounts to establish and maintain a payment order.
Through distributed ledger technology, Spunta can introduce an automated detection system for non-matching transactions. This simplifies the process by giving all participants an overview of their transaction history.
All Italian Banks Could Join Spunta by the end of 2020
The new group brings to about 100, the total number of Italian Banks that are now live on Spunta. So far, which Spunta has processed around 204 million transactions since its Mainnet launch in March 2020.
According to the Italian Banking Association, Spunta is also expected to reach over 350 million transactions by the end of 2020. 18 of the largest Italian Banks are on the network, including Intesa Sanpaolo and Banco Mediolanum.
Representing some of the early adopters, the head of Blockchain at Banco Mediolanum, Demetri Migliorati stated:
“We can really spread the ecosystem in Italy and use this kind of platform for many different use cases, from syndicate loans to anti-money laundering to know-your-customer and so on.”
Mario Costantini, General Manager of Innovation Center for Intensa Sanpaolo innovation center also said:
“This is the beginning of a journey for banks in Italy using blockchain and DLT. As a banker, I think it’s crucial that the banks cooperate with each other to introduce and standardize this kin fog technology, as it’s the only way to reach the needed critical loans.”
R3 is a blockchain startup that works with over 200 partners in both the public and private sectors to develop enterprise solutions on its blockchain platform Corda. The R3 team is spread over 13 countries and supported by more than 2000 professionals in technology, financial and legal fields from around the world.
Other European Banks are closely watching Spunta in Italian Banks with great interest as the basis of how to establish localized processes for different banking systems in other countries.
