Qatar's Commercial Bank Unveils Blockchain Remittance Pilot

One of Qatar's largest banks has unveiled a new blockchain-based service focused on international payments.

Apr 10, 2017 at 10:05 p.m. UTC

Updated Sep 11, 2021 at 1:13 p.m. UTC

The Commercial Bank of Qatar, the country's largest private bank, has successfully completed a blockchain pilot in conjunction with a regional alliance of banks in Turkey, Oman and the UAE.

Commercial Bank of Qatar said this week that it had completed the trial focused on real-time, bank-to-bank payments in a bid to cut costs. The bank is developing future iterations of the system, which would require the approval of the Qatari central bank and other trade partners.

The idea, according to the bank, is to use the tech to develop payment corridors in regions like the Philippines, Egypt and the UAE, among others.

CEO Joseph Abraham said in a statement:

"Blockchain has huge potential to change the financial services sector and we are proud to be the pioneers in leading this change in Qatar by introducing yet another new technology to provide the best client experience for all our customers."

Next on the agenda is trade finance applications.

According to the bank, future tests will focus on utilizing the tech to manage trade finance transactions between relevant parties. However, Commercial Bank gave no indication as to when that trial would begin.

Commercial Bank Headquarters in Doha, Qatar via Shutterstock

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