'Big Four' Chinese Bank to Launch Blockchain Bancassurance Product

One of China's "Big Four" banks is close to launching a blockchain application aimed at the insurance and banking sectors.

Announced last week, China Construction Bank (CCB) now intends to begin using a custom blockchain platform for bancassurance as soon as Q3, moving a process by which the bank today sells third-party insurance products to a distributed ledger. To be used by CCB's Asia operations, the effort has been designed to improve customer experience, reduce processing times and boost transparency.

IBM, which has partnered on the technical side of the project, said its Hong Kong team has been working with CCB and its insurers on a solution to meet these needs. As such, the platform is now reportedly under testing by participants.

Built with IBM Blockchain, the product comes amid a wider push by the U.S. tech giant to take the products and services it's been incubating with the technology live.

For example, while IBM launched its first commercial blockchain platforms in March, it is still striving to create live networks wherein the technology can be utilized by real businesses. As recently as May, IBM's VP of blockchain technologies spoke on the issue, telling CoinDesk its strategy was then shifting to prioritize more serious customers.

Still, there's evidence to suggest CCB may meet this standard. Given the 2017 launch timeline, the project could be among the first DLT implementations to see wider use.

China Construction Bank image via Shutterstock