Ping An, the Chinese insurance giant that built the eTradeFinance blockchain, is modifying the platform to give its 12 participating banks more control over customer relationships.
Frank Lu, head of the blockchain division of OneConnect, PingAn’s fintech arm, and the architect of eTradeFinance, told CoinDesk his team is revising the way businesses submit their data for trade financing from the network. Instead of going to a central portal, they will have to sign up through individual banks.
First revealed in 2017 as a proof-of-concept by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority (HKMA), and formally launched in October 2018, eTradeFinance aims to bring efficiency to the trade finance market in Hong Kong for small and mid-size enterprises (SMEs) while preventing fraud.