Deloitte's first blockchain investment plan: payment and settlement are the focus

Professional services firm Deloitte has invested in blockchain startup SETL.

A Deloitte spokesman said this was the professional services giant’s first public investment in a blockchain startup, but declined to disclose the amount.

SETL is located in London and mainly applies blockchain technology to payment and settlement. Recently, the company has joined the regulatory sandbox project of the UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

About a month ago, Deloitte and SETL announced a collaboration to develop a contactless card that uses blockchain technology to settle transactions, mainly for Metro Bank customers. It is reported that the project is expected to be officially put into commercial production by the end of 2017.

So far, Deloitte has established partnerships with several startups to jointly develop blockchain prototypes. A Deloitte spokesperson said that its blockchain prototype is mainly to provide new services to global clients.

David Myers, head of capital markets at Deloitte, commented on the investment:

Blockchain has the potential to revolutionize the industry. Therefore, we have invested heavily in real-world use cases for blockchain, including identity management, cross-border payments, loyalty points, trade finance, and more. SETL’s blockchain technology can provide our customers with more practical and transformative solutions.

According to SETL, the two parties have been working together for a year before receiving this investment. Peter Randall, CEO of SETL, said:

We have been working with Deloitte for the past year and this investment is a testament to their trust and commitment to our platform.

We will continue to work with Deloitte to provide exclusive blockchain services to all financial services companies.