Page 9 - bne_Tech_03_2019

Top Stories
March 2019 www.intellinews.com I Page 9
One good example is the state-owned banking giant VTB, which recently patented a technology for blockchain payments, which facilitates mul- tiple issuers and would therefore foster develop- ment of mutual payment services between an unlimited number of parties.
Instant payments, cross-border payments and loyalty programs could be practical application of the technology.
Interestingly, the announcement comes just a couple of months after the lender dismissed the idea of applying blockchain technology in the financial industry.
Back then, Dmitry Snesar, VTB's senior vice
president, said that the lender wasn’t going to adopt blockchain as the technology didn't have "any commercial applications" and its scope of usage was limited cryptocurrencies.
Interestingly, despite some major lenders' reluc- tance to enter the crypto space, the overall Rus- sian banking sector has been exploring possible blockchain applications for quite a while now.
In the fall of 2018, the local subsidiary of the Austrian lender Raiffeisenbank ran the country’s first ever blockchain-powered mortgage deal.
At roughly the same time, the Central Bank announced a test ICO in a sandbox in a move
to examine the potential of blockchain-based solutions.