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Austrian banking giant Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI) has joined Marco Polo, a trade finance network on R3’s Corda blockchain platform.
Launched in September 2017, Marco Polo is a platform developed by the world’s leading financial institutions including ING, Commerzbank, BNP Paribas, Anglo-Gulf Trade Bank, NatWest, Natixis, Bangkok Bank, and others. The pilot phase was launched last year after a successful PoC conducted in 2017 with the consortium of banks.
Marco Polo leverages R3’s Corda blockchain technology and the distributed trade finance platform from TradeIX to enable bank members to offer a wide range of solutions at scale, for a low marginal cost and with a single integration. Its platform allows members to test blockchain technology while benefiting from the group’s knowledge and expertise.
RBI is Austria's second-largest bank with a balance sheet total of € 140 billion (as of 31 December 2018). Its shares have been listed on the Vienna Stock Exchange since 2005.
Martina Zimmerl, Head of Trade Finance Department at RBI, said that joining the Marco Polo Network will enable the bank to “further expand [its] product offering to meet the expectations of [its] clients in terms of customer experience, time to cash and efficiency.”
In March 2019, two commercial transactions between international technology group Voith and pump and valve manufacturer KSB SE were carried out using Marco Polo for the first time. The pilot project was launched in cooperation with Marco Polo founding members – Commerzbank and LBBW.
“The current infrastructure that underlies trade finance is outdated and in need of investment and modernisation,” said David E. Rutter, CEO, R3. “The Marco Polo initiative addresses this by utilizing the latest blockchain technology to meet these issues head on. Marco Polo will improve Raiffeisen Bank’s trade finance efficiency and transparency as well as offering a wide range of solutions in this area.”
