Credit card giant Visa has announced the pilot phase of its blockchain-based platform aimed at providing financial institutions a simple, fast and secure way to process business-to-business (B2B) payments globally.



The platform, Visa B2B Connect, was first previewed in October 2016. It is being built in collaboration with Chain using Chain Core, an enterprise blockchain infrastructure that facilitates financial transactions on scalable, private blockchain networks.



Visa announced that it is starting to process bank to-bank test transactions with other banks including Commerce Bank in the U.S., Shinhan Bank in South Korea, Union Bank of Philippines, and United Overseas Bank in Singapore.



“In a world of increasing global interconnectedness, the ability to make and receive payments quickly and transparently is critical for companies of all sizes. Commerce Bank is dedicated to delivering new and innovative solutions for our customers and, through our powerful relationship with Visa, we are excited to be participating in the Visa B2B Connect pilot,” Chris Wiedenmann, VP, commercial payments and products at Commerce Bank said.



Existing cross-border corporate payments processes could be cumbersome, lengthy, and friction-filled for financial institutions and their corporate clients. Using blockchain-based architecture, Visa B2B Connect simplifies this process by sending transactions over Visa’s network from the bank of origin directly to the recipient bank.



Following the first phase, the commercial launch of the platform is planned for mid-2018.