Raiffeisen Bank creates a blockchain platform for tokenization of national currencies

Austrian Raiffeisen Bank and Polish-British company Billon will develop a blockchain platform fortokenization of national currencies.

Raiffeisen Bank said it expandscooperation with fintech company Billon after successful testing of all stages of digitized national currency transfers. Companies are working on the initial stages of creating a tokenization platform called RBI Coin. Testing is planned to be completed by the end of 2020. The platform should accelerate cross-border interbank transactions, as well as transfers between organizations and improve liquidity management.

According to the statement, RBI Coin was developedBillon as part of a previous joint project between the companies — Elevator Lab program, which ended on March 5th. Elevator uses the Billon blockchain, which allows for electronic transactions with the digitized euro.

If successful, a pilot project is expected.will be launched in the countries of Central and Eastern Europe where Raiffeisen Bank operates, namely in Belarus, Czech Republic, Poland, Russia and Ukraine. A company spokeswoman said the bank is still discussing with its subsidiaries their participation in this project:

“We plan that the first tests will concern money transfers between Austria and a bank subsidiary in another European country.”

Depending on which country will be tested, RBI Coin will be pegged at a ratio of 1: 1 to the euro or any other national currency.

Overall, the Elevator Lab — only onefrom examples of Raiffeisen Bank's extensive efforts in the direction of blockchain and tokenization. Last year, Raiffeisen Bank joined the Marco Polo trade finance blockchain platform, and in 2018, Raiffeisen Group banks issued an international bank guarantee on the blockchain.

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