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Indian IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has announced that a cross-border securities settlement between two central securities depositories (CSDs) was recently carried out successfully using Quartz Blockchain.
In a press release dated April 10, TCS said that the transaction between Maroclear, the CSD of Morocco, and Kuwait Clearing Company, the CSD of Kuwait, marked the world’s first cross-border securities settlement between two CSDs. It was executed using cash coins on the BaNCS Network, powered by Quartz Blockchain.
Cash coins, similar to stablecoins, are a form of a digital currency pegged to a fiat currency at a fixed market rate and maintained on a private, permissioned blockchain network. They enable seamless and real-time DVP (delivery versus payment) settlement of cross-border securities transactions, TCS said.
The BaNCS Network is a private permissioned blockchain ecosystem through with the 450 TCS BaNCS customers – from banking, market infrastructure, custody and insurance domains – can collaborate by seamlessly connecting to a single ledger and accessing information and services in real-time.
TCS’ Quartz Blockchain solutions aim to help organizations across multiple domains leverage blockchain meaningfully for their businesses. It comprises of Quartz Smart Solutions, Quartz DevKit, Quartz Gateway, and Quartz Command Center. Use cases include contract authoring, settlements, cross border remittances, and reward points.
R Vivekanand, Vice President and Co-Head, TCS Financial Solutions, explained the BaNCS Network was developed to leverage the power of Blockchain to deliver exponential value from ecosystems.
“We are pleased to see our TCS BaNCS customers, Maroclear and Kuwait Clearing Company, leverage this capability, vindicating our commitment to provide sustained long-term value and innovation to our customers. Real-time cross-border settlement with cash coins reduces risks, costs and has the potential to create enhanced liquidity in markets in Middle East and Africa,” he added.
The trial run by the two CSDs involved creating a set of equities and fixed income securities from the Kuwaiti and Moroccan markets on the BaNCS Network implemented on Quartz Blockchain, along with segregated accounts to hold these securities.
Using Quartz’s Smart Solution for Cross-Border Settlements, the cross-border settlement instructions for these securities were matched and settled instantaneously on the blockchain ledger. The notifications on the status of transactions were published on the BaNCS Network and instantaneously made available to the respective CSDs.
“These transactions were settled using cash coins held in the Quartz Blockchain in a true delivery versus payment (DVP) settlement model,” the release said.
