Multinational banking and financial services company Standard Chartered has announced the completion of the first real-time cross-border payment for businesses with another major correspondent bank using distributed ledger technology (DLT).

The pilot leveraged Ripple’s enterprise blockchain solutions and completed the cross-border payment in less than 10 seconds with full transparency of fees and FX, as compared to two days currently. This is the bank’s latest step to leverage DLT for its clients as part of the recently launched ‘Banking the ecosystem’ strategy – a part of the bank’s  global strategy that aims to connect business communities and facilitate increased trade, commerce and investments across Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

“This initiative is an integral part of our digitisation agenda in the area of distributed ledger technology as we continue to explore new ways of adding value to our clients and the industry. Digitisation is a priority for the Bank to better serve our clients by connecting business communities in a more efficient way. Payments innovation is a key area of focus in order to bank our clients’ ecosystem and make it more cohesive, reduce risk and increase transparency”, Alex Manson, Global Head, Transaction Banking, Standard Chartered, said.

When fully commercialised, businesses will have the ability to access and make cross-border payments in real time, at any time of the day, without being restricted by cut-off times, the press release said. Moreover, fee & FX transparency coupled with real-time status updates will provide businesses greater control and certainty on their payments, costs and the use of funds.

“We're thrilled to be collaborating with Standard Chartered on this initiative to make cross-border payments truly efficient for their customers. This marks a major step towards real-time financial settlement. Together we’re building the foundation for the seamless flow of value and new business opportunities that haven’t previously been possible”, Ripple CEO & co-founder Chris Larsen said.

Standard Chartered recently announced its strategic investment in distributed ledger company Ripple, in a move to further accelerate its digitisation agenda in the area of distributed ledger technology as it explores new ways of adding value to its clients and the industry.