Mphasis and R3 Partner to Develop a Blockchain-Based Payments and Financing Network for Global Supply Chains

Mphasis, an Information Technology (IT) solutions provider specializing in cloud and cognitive services, announced its partnership with R3, a leading global enterprise software firm, to jointly create innovative blockchain-enabled payment solutions and take them to market. Leveraging R3’s blockchain platform, Corda, Mphasis is strategically extending its Payments and Trade Finance technology solutions portfolio.

The partnership will focus on the acceleration of ALTA, the digital payments and supply chain finance ecosystem formed by Mphasis to connect global enterprises, their supply chains, and a wide range of financial services and infrastructure providers into a modern value transfer network for global trade. The solution will provide Mphasis customers with access to a suite of next generation payments, working capital, and Foreign Exchange services that can be seamlessly deployed on Corda. Corda is a blockchain platform that removes costly friction in business transactions across every industry, from financial services and healthcare to oil and gas. It enables institutions to transact directly using smart contracts, while ensuring the highest levels of privacy and security.

Recent events have highlighted the critical role that financial resilience plays in the sustainability of every supply chain, and the structural gaps that still exist in how financing is traditionally deployed. The innovative collaboration with R3 will allow small and medium sized businesses – who are typically the weakest link in most supply chains – to easily and digitally access working capital and other financial services that will help bolster and strengthen the entire supply chain. Due to the scalability, low-latency and encrypted environment in which Corda operates, the solution is optimized for business cases requiring institutional grade controls in reliability and availability.

“Through the ALTA Payments Innovation Program – a part of the Sparkle Innovation Lab –, we have been working on various ways to transform traditional trade assets into tokenized, liquid instruments that can serve as the basis for a new digital, networked value transfer ecosystem,” said Srikumar Ramanathan, Senior Vice President & Global head – Industry Solutions Group (ISG), Mphasis. “The partnership with R3 will allow us to accelerate co-development and go-to-market on the Corda platform.”

By implementing a network-based model in what has traditionally been a linear, point-to-point approach, enterprises and their supply chains can unlock much needed working capital, while banks and financiers can significantly increase return on risk weighted assets (RWA) and scale supplier adoption.

“To support a meaningful and sustainable re-activation of global supply chains, we must embrace more flexible, efficient, and resilient models that enable a higher level of visibility and collaboration between banks, buyers, and suppliers. We are thrilled to be working jointly with Mphasis to create innovative blockchain-based payments solutions,” said Dorothy Copeland, Global head of Alliance and Ecosystems, R3.