Russia: Raiffeisen Bank Introduces Blockchain Platform for Corporate Settlements

Raiffeisenbank, a Russian subsidiary of Austria’s Raiffeisen Bank International (RBI), has developed a corporate blockchain platform, the bank announced in a press release on May 31.

Targeting holding firms, the new blockchain platform claims to automate settlements by corporate clients and enable a trusted network for sharing data between a group of companies, the press release notes. Specifically, the product reportedly automates the process of supply settlements between buyers and suppliers, as well as providing tools for financial management.

While the product was reportedly developed by Raiffeisenbank at the request of major local sleep products manufacturer Askona Life Group, the new blockchain platform is available for the bank’s other corporate clients.

Evgeniy Kirillov, investment manager at Askona Life Group, claimed that Raiffeisenbank’s blockchain product allowed the company to reduce labor costs by more than 40%, as well as to reduce human error risks to zero.

Previously, Raiffeisenbank had partnered with Russian government-owned oil giant Gazprom Neft to issue a bank guarantee on blockchain.

Raiffeisenbank’s Austrian parent company RBI had also recently announced a blockchain trade finance pilot based on blockchain consortium R3’s Corda enterprise blockchain platform Marco Polo. The platform counts major global banking institutions, including BNP Paribas, ING and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, among those using its services.