Wipro partners R3 to build blockchain for interbank settlements in Thailand

Indian information technology (IT) services firm Wipro has partnered enterprise blockchain software company R3 to develop a blockchain-based solution to enable digital currency for interbank settlements for a consortium of Bank of Thailand and eight other commercial banks in the Southeast Asian country.

The blockchain solution, which is at a prototype stage and part of the first phase of a project named Inthanon, will enable de-centralised interbank real-time gross settlement using wholesale Central Bank Digital Currency.

Project lnthanon is an initiative led by the Bank of Thailand, in partnership with eight other banks, to embrace new technologies and digitisation. Launched in August 2018, the first phase of the project focused on building the fundamental payment infrastructure, while the application of blockchain technology for other functionalities will be explored in the subsequent phases.

The solution has been developed on Corda, R3's open-source blockchain platform, for the consortium and it automates the banks' liquidity provision for resolving payment deadlocks through Liquidity Saving Mechanisms (LSM).

The prototype has successfully demonstrated that distributed ledger technology (DLT) can significantly enhance payment efficiency by enabling 24/7 interbank settlements, the companies said in a statement.

Wipro is also a part of a number of DLT consortia and alliances including R3, the Hyperledger project, the Ethereum Enterprise Alliance, the Energy Web Foundation and the Blockchain in Transport Alliance.  

However, the Indian IT services firm came under the spotlight last month when online publication KrebsOnSecurity reported that hackers had taken control of the company's IT systems and were successful in launching attacks on a few of its clients. It had also said that the company was facing multiple attacks on its systems speculated to be originating from a state-sponsored entity.

Wipro spoke otherwise. “We detected a potentially abnormal activity in a few employee accounts on our network due to an advanced phishing campaign. Upon learning of the incident, we promptly began an investigation, identified the affected users and took remedial steps to contain and mitigate any potential impact," BM Bhanumurthy, the firm’s chief operating officer, said, adding that Wipro investigates 4.8 million such alerts yearly.

“We have also retained a well-respected, independent forensic firm to assist us in the investigation. We continue to monitor our enterprise and infrastructure at a heightened level of alertness,” he said.