Industrial Bank and ING of the Netherlands successfully completed a real-time blockchain oil trading trial, reducing transaction time from 3 hours to 0.5 hours

Two major European banks have published initial results from a trial of a blockchain prototype for oil trading.

The project, dubbed Easy TradING Connect, was officially unveiled last month as part of a blockchain proof-of-concept by Dutch financial services company ING and was developed jointly with French bank Societe Generale.

The platform will then be used to conduct real-time oil trading with commodities trading company Mercuria.

According to the companies involved, the prototype could ultimately reduce the time and cost of the commodity trading process. Specifically, they say the total time it takes a bank to process a transaction has been reduced from three hours to less than half an hour.

Commenting on the trial in a statement, Alistair Cross, Mercuria’s global head of operations, said:

“We are delighted with the success of this initial test. The blockchain technology used in this prototype enables access to real-time transaction data and important details within an ecosystem, creating an improved and more flexible user experience.

While the test is Mercuria’s first publicly acknowledged blockchain work, CEO Marco Dunand has previously said the technology could significantly reduce operating costs, which has been borne out by the test.

Both IBG and Societe Generale have explored various blockchain concepts before.

ING has been open about its blockchain work, both on its own and in partnerships. For example, the SocGen project is a broad trade finance project that ING is exploring with six other international banks.