SURETIES ON BLOCKCHAIN: TESTING PHASE COMPLETED, MARKET LAUNCH BY THE END OF THE YEAR

CeTIF – Cattolica University, SIA and Reply partner in the initiative

The launch of the first system platform that will enable sureties to be managed in the banking and insurance sectors through DLT technology will happen in the second half of 2021

More than 50 players took part in the trial, with over 350 contracts managed in four months having guaranteed sums ranging from €10,000 to €1.4m and an average amount of €275,000

Milan, 10 May 2021 - The pilot phase of "Fideiussioni digitali" (digital sureties), the project promoted by CeTIF, SIA and Reply - which also saw the involvement of the Bank of Italy, the Institute for the Supervision of Insurance (IVASS) and the Italian Finance Police - to digitalize the surety management process on blockchain, has been successfully concluded.

Over 50 players - including guarantors, guaranteed parties and contractors - from the banking, insurance, financial, public administration and corporate sectors participated in the trial carried out within a "Sandbox" under the supervision of a Scientific Committee made up of representatives from the relevant Authorities and public and private bodies.

During the pilot phase, which lasted about 4 months, more than 350 sureties were digitally managed with guaranteed sums ranging from €10,000 to €1.4m, and an average amount of €275,000. According to data provided by participants, use of blockchain and DLT technology can lead to a reduction in fraud of around 30% and in operating costs from 10% to over 50%, depending on the number of transactions processed.

Additional benefits that emerged from the trial include:
• cost reduction resulting from the dematerialization of documents;
• increased transparency and certainty of information throughout the entire surety management process, linked to greater information sharing;
• greater efficiency in management of the release of the surety with consequent availability in a shorter timeframe of lines of credit to be allocated to new calls for tenders.

Based on the effectiveness of the trial and the positive feedback of participants - who represent the main players in the management of sureties in Italy - further technological, functional and regulatory improvement activities have been started up with the aim of making the platform fully operational and available on the market in the second half of 2021.

CeTIF
CeTIF, the Research Centre on Technology, Innovation and Finance has been working since 1990 in research, promoting programs on strategic and organizational change in the financial, banking and insurance sectors, involving within its network about 20,000 professionals. Each year CeTIF organizes more than 12 research programs (HUB, Outlook), also at international level, and events (workshops, community events, summits) to share knowledge, experiences and strategies on the most innovative drivers of change. With CeTIF Banking & Insurance Academy, it promotes higher education courses characterized by their scientific approach, the relevance of the contents and direct focus on the financial sector. In addition, through the activities of spin-off CeTIF Advisory, it uses exponential technologies (in experiments and sandboxes) to effectively and tangibly convey frontier innovation to target markets. CeTIF’s institutional partners include Bank of Italy, IVASS, ABI, ANPB, ANIA, and CONSOB. CeTIF.it

SIA
SIA - a subsidiary of CDP Equity - is European leader in the design, creation and management of technology infrastructures and services for Financial Institutions, Central Banks, Corporates and the Public Sector, in the areas of Card & Merchant Solutions, Digital Payment Solutions and Capital Market & Network Solutions. SIA Group provides its services in over 50 countries, and also operates through its subsidiaries and branches in Austria, Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, and South Africa. The company also has representation offices in the UK and Poland.
For more information: www.sia.eu/en

Reply
Reply [MTA, STAR: REY, ISIN: IT0005282865] specialises in the design and implementation of solutions based on new communication channels and digital media. As a network of highly specialised companies, Reply defines and develops business models enabled by the new models of AI, big data, cloud computing, digital media and the internet of things. Reply delivers consulting, system integration and digital services to organisations across the telecom and media; industry and services; banking and insurance; and public sectors. www.reply.com