Rabobank taps blockchain to improve commercial paper transactions

The Netherlands-based Rabobank has announced the completion of a series of pilots leveraging blockchain technology for commercial paper transactions to modernize banking processes.

The pilot relied on the Ubermorgen blockchain platform for issuance, building on its previous work with the emerging technology in money markets. Over €2 billion ($2.1 billion) in commercial paper transactions were recorded during the pilot, showing glimpses of promise for blockchain use in finance.

Commercial papers are short-term debt instruments deployed for inventories, payroll, and accounts payable liabilities. Usually described as an unsecured promissory note, commercial papers are backed by the issuing entity to repay the amount upon maturity without using traditional collateral.

By using blockchain for pre-production transactions, Rabobank says it found considerable success in reducing payment risks for participants. Other perks include the promise of
interoperability, the elimination of third parties, transparency, and a wholesale revolutionization of banking processes.

The pilot run, which demonstrated the suitability of blockchain in short-term commercial paper transactions, was a collaboration with financial technology firm TreasurySpring and two other large asset managers.

Ubermorgen’s blockchain solution leverages Bloomberg’s Trade Order Management Solutions (TOMS), Citi’s (NASDAQ: C) analytics platform Velocity, and the banking messaging network SWIFT.

The latest initiative is not Rabobank’s first time utilizing the technology, with the Utrecht-based bank running blockchain pilots with Euroclear and German-based Commerzbank in 2021.

In 2022, Rabobank followed up with a blockchain-based commercial paper trial using R3’s Corda distributed ledger in partnership with Euroclear and Northern Trust.

“Our new clients have shared their enthusiasm about this new solution, which blends the best of both worlds—the speed and flexibility of a distributed ledger technology and the reliability and compliance of a centralized system,” said Jacek Wieclawski, Head of Innovation at Rabobank.

Changing the financial landscape with blockchain

Blockchain has evolved from a niche technology to record several mainstream applications in finance. Apart from use cases in decentralized finance (DeFi) and digital currencies, traditional financial institutions are turning to blockchain to tokenized securities.

Tokenized bonds have gathered significant steam recently, with Hong Kong leading the charge. International banking giants like JPMorgan (NASDAQ: JPM) and HSBC (NASDAQ: HSBC) have tested the waters with blockchain-based settlements with relative success, while others are exploring use cases in Know Your Customers (KYC) and Anti Money Laundering (AML) processes.

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