Mphasis Teams With R3 On Blockchain Payment Solutions

Information technology services provider Mphasis is teaming with global enterprise services provider R3 to work on blockchain-based payment solutions, a press release says.

Mphasis will be using its own Payments and Trade Finance tech alongside R3’s blockchain platform Corda, and the partnership will work with ALTA, the digital payments and supply chain finance ecosystem Mphasis formed to link global enterprises with financial services and supply chains, forming a modern value transfer network for trade worldwide, the release says.

Corda is a blockchain platform that eliminates expensive friction in business transactions. It works through a variety of business fields including financial services, healthcare and oil and gas, according to the release.

With the new partnership and solution, Mphasis customers can access new payments, working capital and Foreign Exchange services, with an aim toward meeting the needs of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). The release says the partnership will aim at helping those types of businesses access digital working capital in ways that can help to close the gap in financing.

The release also points out that the network-based model of the partnership will help businesses unlock more working capital, as opposed to the old linear, point-to-point approach of the past.

“To support a meaningful and sustainable re-activation of global supply chains, we must embrace more flexible, efficient, and resilient models that enable a higher level of visibility and collaboration between banks, buyers, and suppliers. We are thrilled to be working jointly with Mphasis to create innovative blockchain-based payments solutions,” said Dorothy Copeland, global head of alliance and ecosystems at R3, according to the release.

Blockchain has been seeing more usage as of late, with the number of transactions moving on instant payments rails expected to increase sixfold over the next five years, from $3 trillion now to around $18 trillion by 2025. Corporate payments are also a big driver in that space, with 17 percent of B2B payments expected to be real-time by 2025.