Blockchain enabled HSBC to lower forex trading costs, claims company executive

Implementing a blockchain-based system has enabled financial giant HSBC to significantly reduce foreign exchange trading costs, Reuters writes. The bank's FX Everywhere platform manages between 3.5 and 5 thousand trades per day, worth approximately $350 billion.

“We going at a pace now," said Mark Williamson, HSBC's chief operating officer of FX cash trading and risk management. “We’re able to demonstrate that this is not a one-off proof of concept or just one or two trades.”

HSBC has implemented a shared permissioned ledger into their systems, a blockchain that coordinates their intercontinental trading hubs. According to Williamson, the technology helps HSBC manage risk by enabling them to observe multiple balance sheets updated in real time. 

Following the success, HSBC plans to provide its major corporate clients with similar tools. “The more participants that you have joining the HSBC shared permissioned ledger and the ecosystem, the more efficient we’re going to become in providing services to our clients,” Williamson said.