Bangkok Bank joined with the enterprise software firm R3 to hold a “Blockchain Developers’ Meetup” to expand and drive the ecosystem within Thailand for R3’s blockchain platform, Corda. The platform was built specifically for businesses and allows any organization to transact legally binding agreements with another using Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), a decentralized and distributed ledger which can be used to verify contracts including financial transactions.

This is the first developer community event that R3 has held in Thailand and the intention was to encourage developers to build applications using the Corda platform. The event was held at Bangkok Bank’s head office on August 21, 2018.

R3’s Managing Director and Head of Asia Carl Wegner said there is growing interest in blockchain technologies around the world, including in Thailand.

“The Corda platform was developed in close collaboration with a vast network of financial institutions, regulators, trade associations, professional services firms and technology companies to leverage the power of blockchain to address their specific business challenges.”

“We are honoured to collaborate with Bangkok Bank as our local partner in our first Thailand community outreach.”

R3 is an enterprise blockchain software firm working with a broad ecosystem of more than 200 members and partners across multiple industries from both the private and public sectors to develop on Corda, its open-source blockchain platform, and Corda Enterprise, a commercial version of Corda for enterprise usage. Bangkok Bank was among the earliest members of the consortium, and the first Thai member, when it joined over two years ago.

Bangkok Bank Executive Director Charamporn Jotikasthira said, “We are delighted to have been an early member of R3. Our participation in this innovative consortium has allowed us to work together with some of the leading banks in the world to understand how DLT can be applied to financial services. This is one of the key building blocks in our efforts to provide innovative products and services to customers using new and emerging technologies.”

“We look forward to joining other R3 members in Thailand to form a community to add to the financial infrastructure of the nation. This is a time for a new open-minded and cooperative approach to working together.”

Bangkok Bank Executive Vice President Ian Guy Gillard said, “The work we are doing with R3 allows us to prove the value of DLT in various real-world scenarios, cooperating with other banks to improve our shared understanding. At this time we are actively collaborating on several projects and our staff are quickly adding to their skills. This supports our vision to service customers with the newest technologies but in a prudent manner. We are confident that the collaborative approach of the consortium created by R3 will allow us to accelerate progress and provide relevant and valuable solutions to our customers.”

During the Blockchain Developers’ Evening, Corda’s Developer Relations lead from London, Cais Manai gave the latest updates on Corda. Bangkok Bank shared their experiences of using Corda in the development of trade finance services using DLT and potential developers heard about opportunities to get involved.

About Bangkok Bank

Bangkok Bank is one of Southeast Asia’s leading regional banks with total assets of approximately USD 95.73 billion as of June 2018. Thailand’s market leader in corporate and business banking, it has an extensive retail customer base of more than 16 million customer accounts and a nationwide network of more than 1,100 branches.

Bangkok Bank’s international branch network covers 32 overseas locations in 15 economies, including 16 branches in nine ASEAN countries.

About R3

R3 is an enterprise blockchain software firm working with a broad ecosystem of more than 200 members and partners across multiple industries from both the private and public sectors to develop on Corda, its open-source blockchain platform, and Corda Enterprise, a commercial version of Corda for enterprise usage.

R3’s global team of over 180 professionals in 13 countries is supported by over 2,000 technology, financial, and legal experts drawn from its global member base. R3 is backed by investment of over USD 120 million from more than 45 firms.

The Corda platform is already being used in industries from financial services to healthcare, shipping, insurance and more. It records, manages and executes institutions’ financial agreements in perfect synchrony with their peers, creating a world of frictionless commerce.