Coinspeaker

New Zealand’s Bank Invests Undisclosed Amount in Blockchain Startup TradeWindow

Auckland Savings Bank, a financial services company based in Auckland, New Zealand, has set its eyes on the blockchain technology sector, making an investment into TradeWindow, a local blockchain firm. This was reportedly done by the company, to accelerate development of the bank’s new trade platform to be powered by Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT).

According to AJ Smith, the CEO of TradeWindow, the new investment is one of the first times in the country that a proper investment has been received by a tech firm from a bank. Smith has also described the forthcoming DLT platform saying:

“Our platform allows all relevant documents – from certificates to invoices – to be exchanged digitally using one touchpoint.”

This means that the platform will feature a “single trading window”, allowing access for all parties related to a transaction in order to considerably increase transparency and directly lower the possibility of a security breach. This will also be ensured as any alterations to be made on the platform will have to be jointly agreed on, by most participants. Furthermore, adoption of the platform will also greatly reduce charges because middlemen like courier services, will largely be eliminated, making the entire process cheaper for all parties.

Smith further added that the new partnership with ASB is a fantastic move for TradeWindow as the bank believes the latter can help its drive for the use of new technology.

“The decision by ASB to invest in TradeWindow is a great vote of confidence. The bank is committed to accelerating the progress of New Zealand’s trade environment using new technology and recognizes the potential our product has to streamline trading between Kiwi exporters and the rest of the world”, said he.

There is also a potentially large market for the platform according to Smith. New Zealand currently has at least 12,000 different registered exporters and Smith believes that the platform is a “major market opportunity” for this large number of exporters.

At the moment, TradeWindow has already signed agreements with two firms in the country. These are Prodoc, a digital documents firm, and also the Independent Verification Services.

ASB’s Executive General Manager of Corporate Banking has also corroborated this. According to Nigel Annett, TradeWindow will greatly increase the bank’s efficiency, ensuring loyalty for all customers everywhere. Annett noted:

“TradeWindow has the potential to truly transform the way our customers experience the international trade process. They will be able to operate more efficiently with trust and security across the globe.”

The Executive General Manager also added that “what began as collaboration through ASB’s innovation programme to solve a customer problem, is now a fully-fledged business ready to launch.”

As Coinspeaker has already reported earlier, a few days ago, New Zealand’s Inland Revenue Department published a tax information bulletin where it ruled that as long as certain conditions are met, employers may begin making salary payments using cryptocurrency from September 1.

New Zealand’s Bank Invests Undisclosed Amount in Blockchain Startup TradeWindow