IBM announced that it has signed a contract with the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU) to apply blockchain technology to the design, management and execution of contracts among business partners. The first pilot projects will automate business transactions between the two companies. The BTMU , a member of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. (MUFG), is Japan’s premier bank and has a worldwide presence. The project is built on the Hyperledger fabric to use a blockchain for real-life contract management on IBM Cloud. The Hyperledger fabric is an open-source blockchain technology platform intended as a foundation for developing blockchain applications. Its modular architecture allows for plug-and-play components, such as smart contract, consensus and membership services. IBM and BTMU have built a smart contract system prototype on a blockchain to improve the efficiency and accountability of service-level agreements in multi-party business interactions. Taking advantage of the Internet of Things (IoT), the two companies are exploring ways to monitor the delivery and usage of equipment, using a sensor that embeds information into the blockchain to automate invoicing and payment. "Blockchain technology has the potential to change not only the financial world, but also other areas of the business world, leading to improved efficiency of the end-to-end business process," said Motoi Mitsuishi, Deputy CEO of BTMU Asia & Oceania. “Today, we are embarking on a journey with IBM to exploit the potential of this new technology. We are very pleased with the outcome of the first blockchain proof of concept working with IBM Research and IBM Global Business Services, and we look forward to seeing these blockchain applications come to fruition." Both IBM and BTMU are developing high profile partnerships in Asia. Recently, Bitcoin Magazine reported that IBM is collaborating with Mizuho Financial Group to find out how payment settlements could be implemented […]
