Banks turn to digital ledger amid fraud in US$4t trade finance

Singapore

THE risk posed by fraud in the US$4 trillion trade-financing industry has prompted banks to start exploring distributed-ledger technology like the one that underpins bitcoin.

Standard Chartered Plc, which lost almost US$200 million from a fraud at China's Qingdao port two years ago, has teamed up with DBS Group Holdings Ltd to develop an electronic ledger of invoices that uses a parallel platform to the blockchain employed in bitcoin transactions. Lenders such as Bank of America Corp and HSBC Holdings Plc say they're looking at blockchain for trade finance and other banking applications.