The credibility of blockchain as a viable tool for the future of banking may have its doubters, but plenty of banks are testing to find out for themselves whether or not it has any value.
Cloud vendors such as IBM, Microsoft, and Amazon Web Services have all made their services available to banks for the testing of blockchain technologies and now Google is going to be used as well.
The Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) is using Google to trial the use of a blockchain application that would be put to use for clearing and settlement.
IBM considered to have been the most proactive of the companies with cloud services that are deploying distributed ledger technology. The company has struck partnerships with the likes of Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ to start managing its contracts on a blockchain-based platform.
Microsoft ‘s work has seen it introduce Project Bletchley, which looks to bring blockchain technology to enterprises, governments and people, and partner with start-up R3 to provide cloud-based tools, services and infrastructure.
The Google blockchain news was revealed by GFT, a global business consultancy company operating in the financial services industry. GFT became a member of Google’s Partner Programme, which allows it to deploy its distributed ledger test infrastructure for banks on the Google Cloud Platform.
GFT said that its incubator will be able to simulate real-world scenarios and then gather and interpret the data using Google BigQuery.
Nick Weisfeld, Head of GFT’s Blockchain and Data Practices, said: “Working with Google has enabled us to create a test environment for a new Royal Bank of Scotland application using real-world volumes, providing them with valuable information on how their solution operates.
“This ability to test at scale has enabled our client to bring their distributed ledger initiative out of the lab and into the real-world in record time, creating an industry-leading solution.”
Cloud has become a common testing ground for banks looking to try out distributed ledger technology and Google certainly doesn’t want to be left behind.
