The leading US financial institution, Bank of America, has joined the Marco Polo blockchain consortium, which aims to increase the efficiency of international trade using distributed ledger technology. This is stated in a message on the organization’s website.

Founded by startup R3 and fintech company TradeIX, the Marco Polo consortium offers its members a solution based on the C3 blockchain platform from R3. Its main functions include real-time transaction tracking, process transparency, and lowering the threshold for access to capital.

“We want to research the new technology in terms of enhancing transactional transparency for our customers and make traditional paper processes simpler and more efficient, ” said Jeff Brady, head of global trading and supply chain finance at Bank of America.

Other Marco Polo network members are BNP Paribas, Commerzbank, ING, LBBW, Anglo-Gulf Trade Bank, Standard Chartered Bank, Natixis, Bangkok Bank, SMBC, Danske Bank, NatWest, DNB, OP Financial Group, Alfa-Bank, Bradesco, BayernLB , Helaba, S-Servicepartner, Raiffeisen Bank International, Standard Bank, Credit Agricole and National Bank of Fujairah.

Earlier in September, Mastercard also joined the consortium. According to representatives of the payment network, the b2b unit of Mastercard Track will provide Marco Polo participants with an access point to the working capital of the platform.

The pilot phase of the project was launched in February 2018, the first test transactions were carried out in March of this year, and in August, the first real deal on the sale and delivery of hydraulic couplings from Germany to Taiwan was successfully completed using the platform.

It is noteworthy that earlier this year the chief technical officer of Bank of America Katie Bessant said that the corporation does not see the use of blockchain technology in the financial sector.

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