IRB-Brasil RE and B3 blockchain network starts operating in the second half

The launch of the blockchain platform that will connect reinsurer IRB Brasil Re, B3, and other insurance brokers is expected to go live in the second half of this year. The project is being developed from specific products, therefore, “at this first moment we are prioritizing the line of great risks. Then we will move to the life and pension line. Within these product lines, the idea is to go through the entire transactional process, whether it is information exchange and settlement”, “said Marcelo Hirata, CIO of IRB, during the panel “Blockchain reinventing financial processes”, part of the event. virtual “Blockchain Finance Brazil 2022”, organized by Blocknews and Cantarino Brasileiro, on the last day (7).

George Marcel Smentana, a research and innovation specialist at Bradesco, and Gustavo Paro, country manager at R3, provider of the Corda solution – which is also the one adopted by the IRB project with B3, also participated in the panel. Blockchain Finance Brazil 2022 will be a series of discussions throughout the year on the use of technology in finance, both conventional and crypto.

Smetana drew attention to the fact that the adoption of blockchain by financial institutions needs not only the internal decision. “The customer has to want it,” he said. This is because tests or uses in production involve operations with customer values ​​and documents. Therefore, according to him, this is the fundamental element for a disruptive technology such as blockchain to be increasingly adopted and to evolve efficiently as a solution in financial operations involving different actors, as is the case here. Time, the ability to bring together different perspectives and tireless tests are part of this journey that is only at an early stage of evolution, he added.

The partnership between IRB-Brasil Resseguros and B3 was announced in 2020 and was expected to start operating in the second half of 2021. But insurers want security, and for that, more time was needed in the project. “We are working together to develop an integration solution between us, B3 and the insurance companies that may be part of this ecosystem in order to streamline exchanges within the pillars of security, data privacy, transparency and consensus between the parties involved,” he said. Marcelo Hirata.

Marco Polo and Contour

Gustavo Paro, responsible for R3 in Brazil, said that there are solutions using Corda in several industries, but the main focus is on infrastructure for the financial market. The focus is on bringing more efficiency to business processes that already exist. The idea is to reduce risks, settlement time and bring more confidence and fluidity to these processes, he added. And he drew attention to the fact that many financial institutions are testing or using blockchain more than is publicly known. One such example is that of the North American Wells Fargo, which has Fargo Digital Cash, a token that runs on its private network for internal settlements. “But, the bank has more than 10 internal processes running on blockchain to bring more efficiency. Most banks have a mandate to improve efficiency and seek innovation and technology”, added Paro.

The Corda solution has already been tested in more than 400 case uses, according to him, and one of them is the Marco Polo network, a solution that connects members of an international supply chain. The project began to be developed in 2019 and Bradesco is one of the members. The bank is also considering joining Contour, with a focus on trade finance, which launched in 2018 in Singapore and has been operating commercially since early 2020.

According to Gustavo Paro, in a project like Marco Polo, around one third of the time is dedicated to the technological part, the other two thirds of the time is dedicated to defining the entire governance. “This is the big point in a blockchain enterprise project: Bringing together major players in the chain so that everyone discusses and agrees on the business rules, with the flow to be followed, is not simple at all”.

According to Smetana, to understand the uses of blockchain, it is necessary to think about three distinct focuses: the first are universal problems of the industry globally; the second is the problems of the domestic industry; and the third is the internal problems of each organization.

“In the case of international solutions, it is easier for you to find off-the-shelf products. For household problems, you will not find off-the-shelf products and each country will have its own requirements. So, when you don’t have something ready and you have to start from scratch to build the network, it takes work, it takes time, it involves the legal part. It’s not easy, and that’s why there aren’t so many production use cases in the Brazilian market,” said the research and innovation specialist at Bradesco.