Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp (SMBC) Finalizes R3 Blockchain Marco Polo Trade Pilot

The Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC), the second largest bank by assets in Japan, has recently started and trialed a proof of concept using the blockchain technology from R3’s consortium’s Marco Polo trading platform.

At the moment, SMBC is the only Japanese company participating in the Marco Polo platform. The company has decided to start a partnership with Mitsui & Co. in order to enhance the efficiency of trades. The two companies used the platform for the trial, which aims to improve the productivity of trade operations.

The goal of the executives at SMBC is to commercialize Marco Polo during the first half of this year. The plans are to do it as soon as the verification phase of the proof of concept is finished.

About Marco Polo

Marco Polo was created in 2017. The platform is a joint venture between R3 and TradeIX, an Irish tech company. Marco Polo is used as a trade finance utility that is powered by the blockchain technology created by R3, Corda.

At the moment, Marco Polo has 15 consortium member banks, a number that will be bigger soon. Other important names, as well as SMBC, are ING, BNP Paribas e NatWest. Last year, the Bangkok Bank, the biggest bank in Thailand, has decided to join the initiative as well.

R3 is a consortium of companies that is formally based in New York. It was founded in 2014 and has over 300 members now.

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