London-based blockchain startup SETL has announced that IZNES, the blockchain-based pan-European record-keeping platform for funds, has started processing live transactions.
SETL and four asset management firms – OFI AM, Groupama AM, La Financière de l’Échiquier, and Arkéa Investment Services – launched IZNES last year. According to the official release, OFI Asset Management has successfully used the IZNES system in a series of trials with selected clients.
IZNES enables investors and distributors to easily subscribe and redeem fund units via a direct connection with the Asset Management Company, thereby eliminating the need for the transfer agent, which in turn reduces transaction costs. SETL said that its blockchain technology enhances transparency, optimises operational workflow and will in time enable the development of new value-added services.
“This is an important step in bringing 21st Century technology to the asset management sector, including reduced costs, better transparency and workflow. When this project is fully operational it will be the largest single instance, by value, of a permissioned blockchain in the world,” Peter Randall, CEO of SETL, stated.
SETL said that the production phase shows IZNES’ interoperability with the existing fund distribution ecosystem. It explained that the units used for the transactions already existed, and have not been created specifically for blockchain.
Going forward, the IZNES platform will seamlessly support the creation, issue, transfer and redemption of new units designed specifically for blockchain use, the release stated.
