INTERBANK SETTLEMENTS
Reserve Bank at global cutting edge with successful blockchain trials
Payments between SA’s banks, averaging R350bn daily, can be settled using blockchain technology, tests demonstrate. "Project Khokha", whose results the Reserve Bank announced on Tuesday, successfully trialled interbank settlements using distributed ledger technology (DLT), of which blockchain, the mainstay of cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin, is one type. Distributed ledgers use independent computers to record, share and synchronise transactions in online ledgers, without the need for an independent third party to verify those transactions. DLT could "fundamentally change the financial sector, making it more efficient, resilient and reliable", according to the World Bank. In the long term, it could usurp a large portion of the work performed by trusted intermediaries such as banks and clearing houses. DLT developments Central banks around the world, meanwhile, are grappling with the implications of financial technology (‘fintech’) for financial markets and their supervisory roles in...
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