IADB and CITI Innovation Labs seal blockchain cross-border payments deal

The Inter-American Development Bank and Citi Innovation Labs have concluded a successful proof of concept to make cross-border payments from the US to countries in Latin America and the Caribbean using blockchain and tokenized money. The transaction provides full traceability of the transactions, exchange rates, and fees.

The LACChain Blockchain Network enabled several disbursements from the IADB Headquarters in Washington D.C. to a recipient in the Dominican Republic. “For the proof of concept, the IADB deposited funds denominated in dollars in a Citi account, which were hold, tokenized, and transferred using digital wallets. After tokenized, these funds were converted to local currency -Dominican pesos- with the exchange rate established by Citi. Exchange rates, payment status, and fees were traceable and transparent at all times as the transaction could be checked in the LACChain Blockchain”, said Marcos Allende, IDB Specialist in Blockchain and Technical Leader of LACChain.