State Administration of Foreign Exchange (SAFE) – a China-based regulator – has widen the scope of its blockchain cross-border financing pilot project. 

Reported by the GlobalTimes on November 11, the program is now operational across 19 different provinces and cities, compared to the initial number of 9. 

This initiative has been predicted, since SAFE deputy director – Lu Lei – claimed in October that blockchain and AI are being eyed as solutions for cross border financing, with a focus on risk management applications.

According to the reports, numerous experts hoped that the blockchain tool will produce cross-border financial services with enhanced efficiency and safety. The project, initially rolled out in March this year, offers financing solutions for exports and data verification to global firms. 

“The traditional financial processes, which require a lot of human labor to carry out information verification and authorization, leave a lot of room for financial fraud. […] As the blockchain system promises a decentralized and encrypted track of each capital flow, it leaves potentially little to no space for human mediation.” Blockchain analyst Cao Yin revealed. 

Yin also notified that the project can reduce the processing time – which has already been lowered to 15 minutes instead of 48 hours – along with enabling real-time management, which, consequently brings forth major development to financing conditions for Chinese exporters. 

The project will reportedly use the blockchain system, designed by ZhongChao Blockchain Technology Research Institute.