International Money Transfer Case Study Using Stablecoins and Hedera Network

In a rapidly evolving financial landscape, innovation remains at the forefront of major banking institutions’ agendas.

Standard Bank, Shinhan Bank, and Swirlds Labs (a company that provides development and support for the Hedera network,) have just conducted a webinar that unveiled groundbreaking advancements in the realm of international remittances. The event featured an exclusive collaboration between these industry giants, as they join forces to tackle one of the most pressing challenges in cross-border transactions.

What The Webinar Aims to Achieve

The heart of the discussion revolved around the focal point of international remittances – a topic that has long captivated the attention of both financial experts and the global populace. As the world becomes increasingly interconnected, the efficiency, cost-effectiveness, and speed of transferring funds across borders become paramount. In an effort to address these critical concerns, the three pioneering entities embarked on a visionary pilot project that is poised to redefine the landscape of cross-border financial transactions.

Central to this groundbreaking endeavor is the innovative utilization of stablecoins – a digital asset pegged to a stable value, often backed by traditional fiat currencies. The triumvirate of banks leveraged the potential of stablecoins to achieve real-time settlement and seamlessly integrate real-time foreign exchange (FX) rates. The pilot project was executed with precision using three prominent Asian currencies: the Thai Baht (THB), the New Taiwan Dollar (NTD), and the South Korean Won (KRW) – by fully utilizing the Hedera network.

The Recap

The webinar, hosted by Jared Lindolent (Lead Developer of the Blockchain team, Standard Bank,) focuses on international money transfers, specifically discussing the use of blockchain technology in this domain.

The participants include representatives from various financial institutions and technology companies, each with a background in blockchain development, banking, and fintech, as follow:

• Minju Kim (Lead Business, Shinhan Bank,)
• Daseob Lee (Lead Developer, Shinhan Bank,)
• Heeyoun Kim (Lead Developer, Shinhan Bank,)
• Eric Pan (Taiwan,)
• Steven Shih (Taiwan,)
• SCB TechX: Andre Chan (Innovation Lead.)

The webinar covers the following key areas:

1. POC (Proof of Concept) Phase One Recap: Jared provides a recap of the first phase of the POC, which involved a collaboration between Shinhan Bank and Standard Bank. The POC demonstrated a quick bit-to-stablecoin process and allowed tracking of remittance statuses.
2. Challenges with International Remittance: Andre discusses the problems encountered with international remittance, such as processing time, transaction fees, working hours limitations, and system standardization. The use of DLT (Distributed Ledger Technology) and blockchain is explored as a solution to these challenges.
3. Two POC Projects with Hedera: There are two POC projects done with Hedera to overcome the shortcomings in traditional international transfer systems. The first POC involved a one-to-one international transfer project using stablecoin and smart contracts. The second POC tested a multi-currency transfer project with multiple banks, focusing on real-time settlement and 24-hour operation.
4. Transfer Process Explanation: The real business scenario of the POC and the architecture of the solution. Each participating bank issues its own stablecoin, and a liquidity pool contract is created for each bank. The process of transferring stablecoin between banks is detailed, including the use of remittance tokens and exchange rates.
5. Demo Introduction: The video introduces a demonstration of the process, showing a banking application interface for sending Korean won stablecoin (eKRW) to Thailand’s stablecoin (eTHB.)

Here’s the demo:

You can access the full webinar recording here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7fjp-1-U_EY

Takeaway

As the world navigates an era of rapid digital transformation, the convergence of traditional banking expertise with emerging technologies is poised to reshape the financial sector profoundly. The collaboration between Standard Bank, Shinhan Bank, and Swirlds Labs exemplifies this convergence and the collective effort to create a more efficient, secure, and interconnected financial ecosystem.

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