Recently, IBM in a joint statement with Stellar, unveiled that six international banks have signed letters of intent to issue stablecoins, or tokens backed by fiat currency, on the top of IBM’s now live blockchain payments system called World Wire.
IBM announced that Blockchain World Wire (BWW) service, which company developed jointly with Stellar, has gone officially live now. And, six banks have confirmed themselves that they’re part of the game including Banco Bradesco of Brazil, Bank Busan of South Korea and Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation of Philippines. Other banks, whose names are yet to be disclosed, will offer digital versions of euros and Indonesian rupiah.
Source: IBM
Marie Wieck, General Manager,
IBM Blockchain noted, "
We've created a new type of payment network designed to accelerate remittances and transform cross-border payments to facilitate the movement of money in countries that need it most, By creating a network where financial institutions support multiple digital assets, we expect to spur innovation and improve financial inclusion worldwide."
Now live, World Wire has payment locations in 72 countries, with 47 currencies and 44 banking endpoints.
According to the company, World Wire offers a more straight-through model for cross border payments. It makes use of the Stellar protocol which makes money transfers point-to-point in lieu of the complexities of regular correspondent banking. The network will lessen intermediaries and will empower users to quicken settlement time often in seconds by transmitting monetary value in the form of digital assets. This simplified approach will increase operational efficiency and liquidity administration, streamlining payment reconciliation and diminishing overall transaction costs for financial institutions.