POSCO International said on the 29th that it will apply Blockchain technology to cross-border remittances between corporations in partnership with Hana Financial Group and Dunamu.
The decision aims to improve inefficiencies in remittances made through the existing Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) network and to increase processing speed and transaction transparency in cross-border remittances.
With the SWIFT method, payment instructions and fund settlement are handled separately, causing settlement delays and expense burdens, but Blockchain-based remittances can link instructions and settlement in real time.
To this end, POSCO International signed a three-party business agreement with Hana Financial Group and Dunamu. The three parties will work together to build financial infrastructure for Blockchain-based cross-border remittances and global cash management efficiency and plan to establish a Blockchain-based real-time cross-border remittance model.
Earlier, Dunamu and Hana Financial Group completed a Blockchain-based cross-border remittance proof of concept (PoC) on Dunamu's proprietary Blockchain platform, GIWA Chain, verifying that sensitive information such as transaction histories is transmitted securely.
POSCO International plans to apply the technology to actual fund flows to verify its effectiveness. POSCO International handles about 40,000 cross-border remittances annually based on its global network in 51 countries.
Hana Financial Group will handle financial transactions such as remittance management, fund settlement, and actual disbursements based on its foreign exchange capabilities, and Dunamu will support operations including providing the technology infrastructure through GIWA Chain as well as transaction recording and management.
The agreement ceremony was held that morning at Hana Financial Group's headquarters in Seoul. POSCO International President Lee Gye-in, Hana Financial Group Vice Chairman Lee Eun-hyung, and Dunamu CEO Oh Kyoung-suk attended.
POSCO International President Lee Gye-in said, "We have established a mid- to long-term partnership foundation with leading domestic corporations in digital finance and digital asset fields," and added, "The three companies will expand their roles in the digital finance ecosystem through collaboration."
POSCO International said the collaboration is meaningful as a case of applying Blockchain to transactions between its domestic headquarters and overseas subsidiaries, verifying the technology's effectiveness in an environment with actual fund movements, and that it will continue to pursue digital transformation across financing, disbursement, and settlement.