Brian Hartzer, the Chief Executive of the Westpac Banking Corp., is impressed by the opportunities the blockchain technology offers.

“We are quite intrigued about the possibility of bringing real efficiencies into some of our payments infrastructure and the like through the use of blockchain,” he said.

Currently the Westpac Banking Corp. collaborates with Ripple testing its protocol, which has been assessed highly by the Westpac CEO and its experts:

“I am told by the people involved in it that that's a very sophisticated and advanced proof of concept,” he says, adding that in general blockchain is getting more and more attractive for big banks globally.

“In focusing on the use of the blockchain, we see it as far more of an opportunity than a threat. It increasingly looks like there is something in it. It is not surprising banks around the world are starting to say: what is this and how can it help us?”

Westpac participates in the international R3 project aimed at advancing data transfers between banks at lower costs, focusing on its venture capital fund rather than the technology tests as such.

Notably, Westpac was among the Australian banks that simultaneously closed the accounts of many bitcoin blockchain developers, the case being under investigation now. 

Maria Rudina