July 17, 2017 – FinTech and Blockchain Law Watch

Bank of England FinTech Accelerator Proofs of Concept

Jul 17 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence and Judith Rinearson

On July 10, 2017, the Bank of England (the “Bank”) published summaries of their third round of Proofs of Concept (“PoC”), completed by its FinTech Accelerator.

The FinTech Accelerator was established in 2016, and works in partnership with firms to understand the new technology they may be working with and how FinTech innovations could be utilised within central banking. These PoC provide valuable understanding in respect of FinTech trends and support to its continued development by providing a platform for those firms to demonstrate their solutions for real issues and knowledge from BoE experts.

Blockchain for the humanitarian sector

Jul 17 2017

By Jonathan Lawrence

A network of global charities has begun using blockchain to provide costs savings and transparency to donations. Organisations including Oxfam, Save the Children, Mercy Corps and Christian Aid are three of the 42 members of the Start Network, which trialled the use of blockchain in humanitarian projects last year. The group will work on the project with start-up fund management platform Disberse.

Disberse uses blockchain, which records all transactions in a distributed digital ledger, to try to ensure that less money is lost on exchange rate fluctuations and traditional banking fees. It will also help charities to fight fraud, by tracking all transactions. The ultimate aim would be to track every dollar in aid, from original donor to each individual assisted.

Archive:July 17, 2017