South Africa’s largest bank joins global blockchain consortium R3

South Africa’s Absa Bank, a subsidiary of Barclays, announced today that it has joined the R3 consortium, which now includes 40 global banks and non-bank financial institutions. Recent participants in the R3 consortium include China’s Ping An Bank and Japan’s Toyota Motor Corporation Finance Department. The new South African Absa Bank will create the first bank distributed ledger solution on the African continent.

South Africa’s Absa Bank and Barclays Bank said in a joint statement: “We see huge potential for blockchain technology on the African continent, which will greatly improve the lives of local customers. We will work together, develop together, and solve problems together to realize the true value of blockchain technology in Africa.”

The R3 consortium has added a number of new members over the past year and announced its own internal distributed ledger solution in April. Absa Bank was not immediately available for comment.