- Open Financial Technologies has been given the green light by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) to launch a cross-border payment platform using blockchain.
- The new bank is one of four firms in India to receive approval for blockchain solutions for cross-border payments.
- The bank believes blockchain can become a core part of bank payments and reduce stress for importers and exporters.
Open Financial Technologies has announced plans to launch a cross-border blockchain-based payments platform after receiving the green light from the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).
The fledgling bank’s managing director Anish Achuthan said it will first focus on offering international money transfer options between the US and India before expanding to other markets and services.
Achuthan believes that the inherent transparency of blockchain will help improve the safety and security of transactions.
He noted: “When the payment happens, there is also a ledger that records where the payment is at all times. So immutability is brought into the whole transaction, whereby no transaction is lost from the system.”
Open Financial Technologies is one of four fintech companies in India that has been approved by the RBI to leverage cutting-edge blockchain for cross-border payments.
It now has ambitious plans to scale up its operations in India, where it hopes to “offer a suite of products for cross-border payments and trade finance”.
To achieve this goal, Open Financial Technologies will collaborate with other banks in the country via open source initiatives.
The new services can benefit both personal users who make international payments and SMEs who want to use financial instruments to facilitate trade and commerce.
The latest news is exciting for the Indian fintech industry as the RBI moves a step closer to using blockchain to support cross-border payments.
The government reportedly believes the new system will ease the flow of trade and help importers and exporters amid the dollar crisis.
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