Vietnamese bank issues its first letters of credit on the blockchain

Major Vietnamese bank HDBank has now become the first bank in the country to issue letters of credit, or L/C, using blockchain technology.

According to a Jan. 6 report by local media outlet Việt Nam News, the issuance, document presentation and successful payment of L/C on the blockchain marks a major milestone on HDBank’s stated goal, to become a “Happy digital bank”.

The participants in the first transaction were a local fiber importer and a Taiwanese yarn manufacturer, along with the L/C advising bank in Taiwan.

Letters of credit are important documents in international trade, providing a guarantee from a creditworthy institution, such as a bank, that a buyer’s payment to a seller will be received on time and for the correct amount. In essence, the bank underwrites the payment.

Using blockchain technology for L/C has many advantages, such as offering a higher level of security and a permanent record of the transaction. It also reduces the time needed to process such transactions to a matter of hours.

HDBank joined the HSBC-backed Contour network for L/C back in May 2020. As Cointelegraph reported, the R3 Corda-based platform received a commercial launch in Q2 2020, following a successful trial in 2019.