Celent lifts lid on blockchain in corporate banking

“And they’re off” is the most succinct way to describe the status of blockchain-based initiatives in commercial banking. The race to scale production is on and will be a marathon, not a sprint.

That’s the view of Alenka Grealish, a senior analyst with Celent’s banking practice, in a recently published report titled, Blockchain in Action in Corporate Banking.

Early movers have gone from proofs of concept to pilots and production. The production launches are currently relatively small initiatives. Most initiatives are digitising processes, that is, carrying messages or documents. Only a very few are using digital assets as a medium to exchange value.

The next 18 months will be a critical period to attract service providers and end users. In parallel, blockchain and distributed ledger technology platform providers are working fervently on improving scale and speed with the goal of staying one step ahead of the needs of application providers.

Celent has selected 12 contenders to profile based on their progress toward value, feasibility and viability as well as the calibre of their people and participants.

• Five in cross-border payments with the first three in production: Ripple, Stellar, IBM World Wire, JPM Interbank Information Network, and Visa B2B Connect
• Six in trade finance with the first two in production: we.trade, India Trade Connect, TradeIX, Skuchain, Voltron, and Centrifuge
• One in syndicated lending in production: Fusion LenderComm by Finastra

“Banks that are at the precipice of proof of concept to pilot or pilot to production should evaluate their use case through the lens of the golden triangle. Are there sufficiently strong signals that the requirements of delivering value, achieving feasibility, and maintaining economic viability will be met?” says Grealish.

“In their blockchain and distributed ledger technology initiatives, banks should keep in mind that reaching the finish line of their marathon requires unsung perseverance and hard work.”