MANILA - Visa and UnionBank on Monday said they would offer the country’s first direct blockchain payment system for businesses.

With Visa B2B Connect, fund transfers can be completed in real time or within 24 hours instead of 3 to 5 days using conventional channels, said UnionBank chairman Justo Ortiz.

Transaction fees will also “decrease significantly” once the platform becomes fully operational, said UnionBank president and CEO Edwin Bautista said

“Visa B2B Connect takes on innovative approach and eliminates friction for cross-border transactions by using distributed ledger technology to enhance the speed, security and reliability if these transactions," said Viktam Kshettry, head of business-to-business partnership at Visa Asia Pacific.

Visa will offer the payment platform using 23 fiat currencies and 4 partner banks including Commerce Bank in the US, Shinhan Bank in South Korea, Sberbank in Russia and United Overseas Bank in Singapore, Kshettry said.

The service will be fully operational by the 4th quarter of 2018, he said.

Blockchain, the technology used to trade bitcoins, is “immutable,” said Unionbank chief technology officer Henry Aguda. Visa also has security protocols that have been in place for many years.

“Some platforms have security as a separate platform, with blockchain security is embedded, it takes advantage of cryptography. The chain itself cannot be bugged, cannot be spoofed,” Aguda told ABS-CBN News.