Major banks pledge $50m to develop digital cash settlement system
Several undisclosed large banks are reportedly investing $50 million in the development of a digital cash settlement solution, Jane Connolly writes.
Reuters reports that around a dozen of the world’s largest banks are putting money into a new entity called Fnality. This would run the project known as the “utility settlement coin” (USC), a system that aims to make clearing and settlement in the financial markets more efficient with the use of a digital cash instrument.
First proposed by UBS and UK tech start-up Clearmatics in 2015, the system would use blockchain technology to settle financial transactions, in order to reduce costs and make processes simpler.
According to Reuters, sources close to the project say the deal has not been finalised, but that the new system could launch in 2020.
UBS was among the banks that had previously confirmed they were working on earlier phases of the project, along with Banco Santander, Bank of New York Mellon, State Street, Credit Suisse Group, Barclays , HSBC and Deutsche Bank.
A Barclays spokeswoman confirmed to Reuters that it was part of the USC Project and the R&D phase was coming to an end, but did not comment on the reported deal.
