HSBC exec: blockchain has cut cost of forex trading by 25%

An executive at HSBC has praised blockchain technology for helping the company make significant savings.

Mark Williamson, COO of FX cash trading and risk management at global bank HSBC, has spoken to Reuters about the cost savings the global bank has experienced thanks to the technology.

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HSBC’s “FX Everywhere” platform settles foreign exchange trades, processing around 3,500-5,000 transactions per day.

Williamson said HSBC settles billions of dollars of payments every day and that use of blockchain technology has led to costs being reduced by a quarter. He told Reuters: “We’re going at pace now. We’re able to demonstrate that this is not a one-off proof of concept or just one or two trades.”

While just a year or two ago, blockchain was viewed with uncertainty by many organisations, most have now accepted its value and are looking at how it might be monetised. HSBC’s example may well prompt other financial institutions to take a closer look at the ledger technology.