Marco Polo Blockchain Platform Holds First Real Deals

On the Marco Polo blockchain trading finance platform, developed on the basis of R3 Corda, the first transactions with the participation of a third party were conducted.

A new milestone in the development of the project allows a third party to the transaction (in this case, the logistics service provider) to initiate payment to the supplier in real time at the moment when the goods are on their way to the destination.

This work is based on the first Marco Polo test transactions conducted in March this year. The deals were between two German companies: Voith, a manufacturer of turbines, generators and transmissions, and KSB SE, a supplier of pumps and valves. One deal involved the delivery of special hydraulic couplings from Germany to China, and another involved the delivery of pumps within Germany.

This time, in addition to the two participating companies, the logistics provider Logwin AG added data to the blockchain and initiated a payment obligation. Voith Warrant and Trade Finance Manager Gerald Böhm said:

“For the first time, we have processed the purchase and delivery of special hydraulic couplings from Germany to Taiwan using a blockchain. We made this deal with KSB, a leading pump and valve manufacturer, through the Marco Polo network. ”

Ralf van Velzen, Head of Export Finance at KSB SE & Co, added:

“As a buyer, we, together with our bank, can guarantee that the payment obligation will come into force only if the goods are actually in the hands of the logistics provider and on the way to the delivery destination.”

Marco Polo Joins Blockchain Platform In May
Brazilian Banco Bradesco, as well as Raiffeisen Bank. And in April, the Japanese bank SMBC announced that it would engage in trade finance on the platform. In February last year, the R3 consortium first announced that it was transferring the Marco Polo platform to the pilot phase.