A Baht-Yuan cross-currency settlement system using blockchain technology 

KASIKORNBANK, in cooperation with International Business Settlement Co., Ltd. (IBS), a Chinese FinTech giant, has developed a real-time Sino-Thai settlement system based on the Next Generation Settlement Network (NGSN) which helps save time and costs while providing the utmost security. This move aims to serve the fast-growing 2.3 trillion Baht in annual trade and financial transactions between Thailand and China.

According to Mr. Banthoon Lamsam, KBank Chairman of the Board, the Bank has teamed with IBS, a leading FinTech operator in China equipped with state-of-the-art financial technologies, in developing a Baht and RMB settlement system based on the company’s distributed computing and Blockchain technologies through an international real-time settlement network, NGSN.

NGSN has been designed as a user-friendly operating system employed by commercial banks and clearing houses worldwide, enabling direct multi-currency settlement without the need for many bank agents. Therefore, it reduces payment transaction time, expenses and operating costs, while offering a highly secure platform.

Mr. Banthoon added that China is not only Thailand’s number-one trade partner, but also our major foreign direct investment source. In 2016 alone, Sino-Thai trade value registered 2.3 trillion Baht. Under this cooperation, better efficiency of financial settlement between the two countries is expected, with greater stability of the Baht and Chinese Yuan, while KBank’s digital banking enhancement will offer even more convenience for payment transactions. Therefore, trade and investment transactions between both nations will rise, while Chinese arrivals in Thailand are likely to increase.

KBank’s presence in China is marked with three branches in Chengdu, Shenzhen, and Hong Kong, and a sub-branch in Longgang, as well as three representative offices in Kunming, Beijing, and Shanghai. In 2017, the Bank plans to upgrade its Chinese branches to be locally incorporated institutions (LII) and open a fourth branch in Shanghai. The network enhancement will help boost KBank’s capability in facilitating complete solutions for Thai and Chinese investors, plus digital banking services for retail customers in China and Chinese tourists in Thailand, with more agility in future business expansion.

Mr. Luo Feng, Chairman of the Board of IBS, said the company is dedicated to becoming the world’s leading FinTech company. The rapid development of financial technologies has brought great revolutions and opportunities to the global financial industry. Based on its distributed computing and Blockchain technologies, IBS seizes the opportunities to build and deploy NGSN which is operating in a flat model and shared by finance-related institutions/agencies worldwide. IBS integrates regional clearing resources by connecting regional clearing houses to provide all-currency and 24*7 clearing services to commercial banks around the world, and to build a new highway of real-time and all-currency global funds remittance. IBS is building regional settlement circles in Europe, Middle Asia, South Asia, the Middle East, Africa and other regions via connecting each country’s central bank with commercial banks, which enables the real-time and multi-currency clearing and settlement services between each country/region (e.g., China) and the world.

Source: Kasikornbank

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