ICICI, Axis, HDFC Bank, and more to launch blockchain-linked funding for SMEs

The banks involved in this initiative are: ICICI Bank, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Axis Bank, HDFC Bank, RBL Bank, Yes Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, and South Indian Bank. However, State Bank of India, IndusInd Bank, and Bank of Baroda will be also involved in this project, but as outside members.

The idea behind the creation of such an organisation is to remove any communication hurdle among the different banks. As such, a consortium called the Blockchain Infrastructure Company (BIC) is mediating the discussion between the participating banks, while meetings with the banks representatives have been conducted to establish a live network to make supply-chain finance more transparent and secure.

The goal of having a ledger-network is to ensure transparency in the credit disbursement process, more precisely in the underbanked section. Through this, banks will access public credit data, and information will be made available for large corporates and SME lenders to avail credit.