Earlier this morning, the third-largest bank in Spain, CaixaBank launches a blockchain platform “we.trade” using Hyperledger Fabric. According to reports, CaixaBank plans to incorporate its enterprise blockchain platform into its suite of client services.

The trade finance application, operated by a consortium of 15 European financial institutions, targets small-to-medium enterprises, facilitating banking services, enabling financing and tracking cross-border trade transactions. Besides, the consortium partnered with IBM as its technology partner, using Hyperledger Fabric. But the banking collaboration indicates how much the industry is embracing blockchain technology as the next decade in global finance unfolds.

Enterprise Blockchain Platform Rolls Out in Spain

Speaking at IBM’s THINK 2019, Roberto Mancone, the COO at “we.trade” says the organization has made exponential progress. For the first time, competitors are joining forces to solve all the complexities of trade finance. The company moved quickly and deliberately to do it. As a result, the company can guarantee a userfriendly experience for businesses to trade seamlessly, simply and with trust. The platform is available through the cloud server for any bank to use, and not just the CaixaBank alone.

“We.trade” is Europe’s first foreign trade platform based on blockchain technology. It is designed to increase the security and traceability of national and international commercial operations. At the same time, the platform streamlines processes by using smart contracts.

According to the announcement, the platform generates digital contracts that link the commercial operation to financing or payment and to compliance with commercial conditions. This prevents companies from any risk of default. Hence, it can contribute to enhancing the internationalization of the business of many companies.

Finally, CaixaBank implemented its strategic digital transformation plan in 2019 to navigate the rapidly changing world of finance, identifying digitization as key to its core business model. The bank has one of the largest digital customer bases in Spain with 6.3 million people. Meanwhile, the bank’s network supports company customers in 127 countries.