The Moroccan and Kuwait central securities depositories have carried out a cross-border securities settlement using stable coins and a blockchain from Indian IT giant Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)
The transaction, between Morocco's Maroclear and the Kuwait Clearing Company, the CSD of Kuwait - used cash coins on the TCS BaNCS Network, powered by Quartz Blockchain.
The BaNCS Network is a private permissioned blockchain ecosystem through which the 450 TCS BaNCS customers across banking, market infrastructure, custody and insurance domains, can collaborate by connecting to a single ledger and accessing information and services on a real-time basis.
In tests run by the two CSDs, a set of equities and fixed income securities from both the Kuwaiti and Moroccan markets were created on the BaNCS Network implemented on Quartz Blockchain, along with segregated accounts to hold these securities.
The cross-border settlement instructions for these securities were matched and settled instantaneously on the blockchain ledger using Quartz. The associated notifications on the status of transactions were published on the BaNCS Network and instantaneously made available to the respective CSDs.
These transactions were settled using cash coins - digital currency pegged to a fiat one - that were held in the Quartz Blockchain in a true delivery versus payment settlement model.
R Vivekanand, co-head, TCS Financial Solutions, says: "Real-time cross-border settlement with cash coins reduces risks, costs and has the potential to create enhanced liquidity in markets in Middle East and Africa."