İşbank which is known as one of the major banks in Turkey has made the first-ever international trade finance transaction with a German Bank named Commerzbank. It is the first-ever blockchain technology-based international transaction in Turkey. It is also the first international trade finance transaction based on the blockchain technology that has occurred between two countries Germany and Turkey.
First Turkish bank to complete a DLT-based trade finance transaction
After this transaction, İşbank has achieved another major milestone in the country by becoming the country’s first major bank to make an international trade finance transaction by using the distributed ledger technology (DLT) because no other bank has done this before. This is not the first achievement made by the İşbank. At the beginning of this year, this major Turkish bank became a part of R3’s Corda platform.
Reportedly, the transaction occurred on May 27, 2020. Both İşbank and German Commerzbank utilized the Corda blockchain technology to secure payments and processed the data transfer digitally. The parties involved in the transactions include İşbank, Şişecam, Kuraray Europe GmbH, and Commerzbank AG.
Blockchain technology increases efficiency and security
As compared to the traditional transactions, the blockchain-based transaction was more efficient as all of the trade transaction data was only distributed to the parties which were involved in this transaction with the help of the R3’s Corda technology.
According to the İşbank’s Deputy Chief Executive Şahismail Şimşek, the blockchain technology ensures and increases efficiency, speed, and security. Adding more to it, he said, “Now, with this pilot transaction using blockchain technology, we are starting a reliable and easier period based on matching data in foreign trade.”
Commenting on this achievement, the Head of Trade Product Management at Commerzbank Enno-Burghard Weitzel said:
“After having processed various Marco Polo Payment Commitment pilot transactions last year, we are now very happy to have piloted with İşbank an advanced pre-live version of the platform. We ensured the technical performance and validated the workflow with our corporates to pave the way to production.”