Standard Chartered Bank completes Bangladesh's first blockchain transaction

Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh has completed the first-ever blockchain transaction in the country. A report unveiled this news on August 15, noting that the bank executed this deal after issuing a Letter of Credit (LC) for Viyellatex Ltd, a readymade garment exporting firm. Reportedly, the trade was paperless seeing as the bank leveraged the Contour blockchain to complete it.

According to the report, this deal saw StanChart act as the issuing bank for Viyellatex Ltd after the firm initiated a trade with for Viyellatex Spinning. On top of this, the bank served as the advising bank for the beneficiary of the Letter of Credit.

Commenting on reaching this milestone, Naser Ezaz Bijoy, the CEO of Standard Chartered Bank Bangladesh said,

Using the blockchain to increase trading efficiency

Per the report, the Contour network runs on R3’s Corda blockchain to ensure data transparency, eliminate administration costs, and minimize friction in global trade. Combined, these features ensure high efficiency and cost-friendly trade.

The Standard Chartered Bank is reportedly one of the founding members of Contour. This crucial role has seen the bank benefit from the Contour network, which helps streamline the LC process, minimize settlement times, resolve discrepancies instantly, and simplify sanction screening.

KM Rezaul Hasanat, Viyellatex Group’s chairman and CEO said,

Ready for mass adoption

In the publication, Contour’s CEO, Carl Wegner said that the deal between the Standard Chartered Bank and Viyellatex Ltd proves that its blockchain provides a solution that is readily available for mass adoption. Before StanChart’s transaction, DBS, the largest bank in Singapore adopted the Contour blockchain to offers its customers fully digital end-to-end LC processes.