Chile’s Santiago Exchange has collaborated with IBM in a move to introduce blockchain technology across Chile’s financial sector.

The partnership announcement marks that Santiago Stock Exchange being the first stock market in Latin America to integrate IBM blockchain solution within its short selling system for securities lending solution. The blockchain solution that is built by IBM and Chile’s Santiago Exchange, is designed to help reduce errors, possible fraud, and processing time for each transaction, while also improving transaction management and lowering costs, the announcement said.

“Santiago Exchange is a technologically advanced company, which provides the infrastructure and systems for all types of securities transactions, and their clearing and settlement. The Exchange also provides information services and management systems for intermediaries. Incorporating Blockchain into our business processes is in line with that purpose and positions us as a forerunner in the financial market,” Andrés Araya CIO of Santiago Exchange said.

In case of Santiago Exchange, the blockchain solution will offer time savings for the back-office processes. Developed by IBM, the blockchain solution is based on the open source Linux Foundation’s Hyperledger Fabric and is expected to be widely available to support multiple parties across the financial industry ecosystem this year.

“Our agreement with Santiago Exchange marks a before and after in terms of innovation in the stock market. Santiago Exchange is a pioneer in its industry, and the Blockchain adoption establishes a transformational precedent in the financial market, not just in Chile but in the region and the world,” Francisco Thiermann, IBM Chile General Manager, remarked.