MAS partners R3, consortium in trial project on blockchain technology

THE Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) is partnering a technology company and a consortium to work on a trial project on using blockchain technology for inter-bank payments that may facilitate global transfers round the clock.

It said on Wednesday that it will work with R3, a blockchain technology company, and a consortium of financial institutions on the proof-of-concept project.

This project could potentially result in a payment system for participants to conduct transactions in different global markets round-the-clock that are today limited by time zone differences and office hours, said MAS.

The project will develop a pilot system in which blockchain infrastructure is used to issue and transfer funds among participants. "Such a system will also be more resilient against stoppages by decentralising and distributing the software that records and validates payments. Participants can depend on the immutable record of transactions at the heart of the blockchain to reduce the cost of long-term record keeping," said MAS.

The consortium includes Bank of America Merrill Lynch, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd, Credit Suisse, DBS Bank Ltd, The Hongkong And Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited, JP Morgan, OCBC Bank, Singapore Exchange, United Overseas Bank and BCS Information Systems as a technology provider to the project.