"Sberbank" for the first time applied a smart contract in a credit process

2023

"Sberbank" for the first time applied a smart contract in a credit process

Sber implemented the first transaction in Russia, where the agreement on the provision of a bank guarantee was replaced by a smart contract on a blockchain platform. The principal under the guarantee was the company LLC "Trading House" RTPZ "from Rostov-on-Don, engaged in the production of steel pipes. Representatives of Sberbank reported this to TAdviser on November 14, 2023.

According to them, the client received a financial service on the Sberbank blockchain platform, initiating the operation of a smart contract with a transaction from his electronic wallet.

A smart contract ― a computer protocol designed to automate the execution of terms and agreements within decentralized systems such as blockchain.

The use of smart contracts on blockchain platforms in the provision of credit products ― this is a new step in the market, capable of changing the existing procedure for concluding and executing transactions, which will make them safer, faster and cheaper, ― emphasized in Sberbank.

Access for DeFi developers

Sberbank on May 30, 2023 announced the launch of ComUnity ― a community of developers and experts in the field of decentralized finance (DeFi). Its participants will be able to connect in test mode to the bank's Ethereum-based blockchain platform of the same name.

If earlier the bank's blockchain platform was available only to a limited number of partners, now it is open in test mode to members of the ComUnity community. Developers will gain access to the application catalog, be able to start their project, start-up or launch a network node. This will allow them to become direct participants, receive information and send their transactions not through an intermediary, but directly to the blockchain. Thanks to work on the Sberbank platform, ComUnity members will be able to integrate their application into it, issue a token on it, or place a smart contract.

{{quote 'author = said Alexander Nam, Director of Sberbank Blockchain Laboratory. | Ethereum is a popular technology for developing DeFi applications. The transition to it will allow more specialists to connect their projects to our blockchain platform and create innovative products on it. For members of the ComUnity community, this will be convenient, reliable and profitable. Decentralized finance has a potential that can increase GDP and change the financial model of companies, so Sberbank is actively developing this direction,}}

Sberbank's own blockchain platform ComUnity allows you to create a new infrastructure for the release and circulation of digital assets, conduct secure document management and track the supply and origin of goods. Sberbank's platform is integrated into the bank's services, which allows you to link the execution of transactions on the platform with payments in rubles. The technology ensures data security and the impossibility of spoofing information.

2022: Launch of an educational program on the basics of decentralized finance

Laboratory blockchain Sberbank SberUniversitet and launched educational a program on the basics of decentralized (). finance DeFi This was announced on November 30, 2022 Alexander Nam, by the director of the Blockchain Laboratory. Sberbank

The training is intended for heads of financial divisions, fintech specialists, investors and all those who are interested in blockchain, cryptocurrencies and smart contracts. As a result of the training, students will get acquainted with the key elements of DeFi, learn how to create their own tokens and display them on decentralized exchanges, create smart contracts and release their own NFT collections (sets of objects in digital format).

The program lasts one month (22 academic hours). It consists of offline and online modules, full-time classes are held on the campus of SberUniversity.

Шаблон:Quote 'author = noted Alexander Nam, Director of Sberbank Blockchain Laboratory.

Шаблон:Quote 'author = noted Natalia Osipchuk, acting Rector of SberUniversity.

2021: Sberbank opens developers access to its blockchain platform

On May 20, 2021, Sberbank presented its blockchain platform, which will now become available to the entire developer community. They have become available both a fully functional API for development and a library for working with tokens, which allows them to create lightweight client applications that work directly with the blockchain platform. To make transactions with tokens and execute smart contracts on the platform, a special settlement unit integrated with the bank is used, which allows you to make settlements in smart contracts in rubles.

Renewable electricity certificates are already being issued in tokens on the Sberbank blockchain platform. Opening access to it to a wide range of developers will allow you to implement many new cases, such as tokenization of digital and material assets. Sberbank's immediate plans include the release of digital financial assets on the platform.

Sberbank's blockchain platform allows participants to issue their own tokens and create smart contracts. Platform distribution is achieved through the involvement of independent validation participants who ensure data storage and verification of the correctness of transactions. Thanks to the platform's cryptographic mechanism, these independent validators will be able to perform their functions without having access to confidential information contained in transactions.

2020

The ability for corporate customers to instantly purchase flights using tokens

S7 Airlines, a member of the global aviation alliance, and oneworld Sberbank complete the integration of their own blockchain solutions. So, thanks to the placement on blockchain the payment Sberbank S7 Airlines solutions form, airline ticket agents with accounts with Sberbank will be able to instantly make settlements with the airline through. smart contracts Settlements will take place using a virtual settlement unit - tokens tied to real customer accounts, Sberbank reported on August 26, 2020. The service will be available in September 2020.

Previously, to issue air tickets, the agent had to use bank guarantees and advances, which entailed additional costs, diverted human resources and took a lot of time. Blockchain allows you to automate the entire settlement chain: money from the agent's account will be tokenized and transferred to the airline according to the algorithm prescribed in the smart contract.

In the settlement scheme, Sberbank will act as the owner of the tokenization platform, as well as the guarantor of the necessary amount of money on the client's settlement account. Part of the IT infrastructure of the joint solution, for which Sberbank is responsible, will be located in SberCloud.

"The peculiarity of the joint project of Sberbank and S7 Airlines is that for the first time in Russia, settlements on the blockchain platform will take place using tokens secured by funds in the client's account. The use of a virtual settlement unit allowed Sberbank to solve a number of technical problems and create a universal tokenization platform, in which the process of issuing tokens is only one of many possible. At the same time, the "conversion" process is more technical in nature, it can occur seamlessly and imperceptibly for the user, "explained Anatoly Popov, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board of Sberbank.

"The joint project with Sberbank, on which my colleagues and I have done a great and long work, shows the versatility of the S7 Airlines blockchain solution. We implemented not only integration with the Sberbank blockchain platform, but also connection to the bank's existing domestic product - FintechAPI. I am sure that cooperation with Sberbank will allow us to expand the number of partners working with S7 Airlines through blockchain, including in other commercial industries, "said Nikolai Mukhanov, CEO of S7 TechLab.

Sberbank transfers fast automatic settlements to blockchain

July 31, 2020 it became known that Sberbank he developed cloudy a platform based on distributed register technology () blockchain for automatic quick calculations. The solution is planned to be placed at the facilities SberCloud that are part of the Sberbank group of companies. More. here

Sberbank began to issue electronic mortgages at Masterchain

On July 28, 2020, Sberbank announced the start of using the national blockchain platform Masterchain to record electronic mortgages for real estate transactions. The system was put into commercial operation in the second half of the year, Anatoly Popov, deputy chairman of the board of Sberbank, told reporters through the press service. Read more here.

2019

Sberbank carried out a deal to supply oil using blockchain

In early September 2019, Sberbank carried out a deal to supply oil using the blockchain. First Deputy Chairman of the Board of the credit institution Alexander Vedyakhin told TASS about this on the sidelines of the Eastern Economic Forum.

We made the first deal through blockchain with the  Trafigura leader of the international commodity market , and we plan to develop this technology in the future, he said.

As part of this transaction, Sberbank bought receivables from a large Turkish buyer from a Singapore company. In addition, the partners agreed on the terms of financing and calculated with the status displayed online.

Sberbank entered into the first deal through blockchain with Singapore Trafigura

The use of blockchain made it possible to reduce operational risks, the deadline for approving documents and the labor costs of the parties to carry out the transaction, said the first deputy chairman of the board of Sberbank.

In our "pilot ," the blockchain fixes each step of the transaction: a request for the redemption of debt, consideration of an application from the bank, sending an offer from the bank, confirmation of the conditions from Trafigura, conclusion of the transaction, says Alexander Vedyakhin. - As a result, the process is reduced from one day to an hour. I believe that such transactions using blockchain technology are the ideal solution for a business that makes transactions with a large number of participants.

 The head of Sberbank German Gref has repeatedly stated that the organization relies on the use of blockchain technology. In his opinion, within 10 years the global economy will change greatly due to its implementation.

Sberbank plans to develop this technology, since it allows you to optimize business processes and significantly increase the efficiency of document management. The bank is also considering expanding the list of partners in the use of blockchain.^[1]

Sberbank abandons the Masterchain platform

On July 3, 2019, it became known that Sberbank he was disappointed in the Central Bank blockchain Masterchain platform created under the auspices and intends to use MasterChain its international counterparts in the future, although he will not curtail the projects already launched on it. Oleg Abdrashitov, director of the Sberbank blockchain laboratory, spoke about this. More. here

2018: Sberbank launches blockchain laboratory

On January 11, 2018, Sberbank announced that it had opened a blockchain laboratory. It will explore the latest technologies in the field of blockchain, form and offer ideas for the development of solutions based on them, create product prototypes, conduct pilot projects and implement applied business solutions for Sberbank.

The laboratory will also cooperate with other market participants, support startups, conduct information and educational activities to popularize blockchain technology.

There are few blockchain specialists on the market, especially those with experience in creating industrial systems? noted in Sberbank '(photo - akket.com)'

Blockchain can significantly change many areas of business related to the financial market, to the classical activities of the bank and our clients, - the bank quotes the words of the senior vice president of Sberbank, head of Sberbank CIBIgori Bulantsev. - The development, development and implementation of the most promising technologies is not only an important element of our competitiveness as a bank, but also an obligatory part of our future as a technology company.

Bulantsev added that blockchain is a tool to increase the efficiency of interaction between market participants. Thus, by creating a blockchain laboratory, Sberbank contributes to the future of the banking industry and the country, he said.

At the time of the opening of the laboratory, a strategy for its work is being developed and priorities for activities are being determined, a representative of TAdviser Bank said. The interlocutor noted that one of the key areas of the laboratory's activity will be the solution of issues related to the "youth" of platforms and technologies.

We have constantly working projects that provide business benefits, such as a factoring solution. But it is not yet possible to consider them fully industrial, "he stressed.

How many employees there will be in the laboratory, the representative of Sberbank did not specify. He stressed that there are few blockchain specialists on the market, especially those who have experience in creating industrial systems.

Sberbank already has several specialists combining such skills. In addition, the bank will continue to search the market, "he explained to TAdviser.

2017

The first blockchain payment transaction in Russia

In November 2017, Sberbank became the organizer of the first pilot payment blockchain transaction in the history of Russian banking practice using the IBM Blockchain platform based on HyperLedger Fabric. Sberbank partners and participants in the pilot transaction were MegaFon, MegaLabs, Alfa-Bank, as well as IBM. See more about the project here.

15 different pilot projects

From 2014 to 2017, Sberbank launched about 15 different pilot projects related to blockchain technology. Some of them did not receive further development and were discontinued, and some went into commercial operation and the bank began to benefit from this. Dmitry Bulychkov, Project Director of the Center for Technological Innovations of Sberbank, spoke about this at the CIPR conference in Innopolis in May 2017.

We see that the introduction of blockchain allows us to speed up the transaction and a number of processes, increase transparency and reliability. At the same time, the development, implementation and operation is quite cheap compared to centralized systems, - said Bulychkov

A representative of the Sberbank Innovation Center noted that Sberbank is not trying to use blockchain technology everywhere. It is used where publicity is needed, peer-to-peer (P2P) services, fixation and the ability to prove the invariability of information, etc.

Bonus Exchange

One of the projects where Sberbank tried to use blockchain technology is the bonus exchange. It was based on colored bitcoin coins, which were assigned the value of various bonuses: for example, the Thank You program from Sberbank, Aeroflot, X5 Retail Group stores. Technically, it worked, but from a business point of view, the idea did not take off, and it was left until better times, says Dmitry Bulychkov.

Currency exchange through tokens

Another problematic project is the implementation of currency exchange through tokens, when you can buy a token in Russia for rubles, and, having arrived in another country, sell it there for local currency. At the same time, money, it turns out, does not even cross the border. Regulatory problems prevented the development of this project.

Using Blockchain in Escrow

One of the most interesting projects, the representative of Sberbank calls the use of blockchain in escrow - a service that gives guarantees, for example, when buying an apartment or buying on the Internet, that all transactions will be carried out by participants at the same time. A year and a half or two ago, when Sberbank piloted this project, the state was not ready to discuss it, says Bulychkov. But everything is changing quickly, and perhaps it will soon be possible to discuss such services, he hopes.

Distributed Document Flow

Successful projects with blockchain in Sberbank are not related to financial services. One of them is a distributed document flow, which has already been tested with a number of counterparties. Among them -. FAS The blockchain-based platform allows documents to be exchanged in encrypted form through distributed registry technology. Documents are stored in a local instance of the distributed database and replicated by standard mechanisms. Document transactions are flagged on the blockchain, and transaction data is replicated by the standard means ON on which it is built.

In mid-October 2016, Sberbank and the FAS Russia launched the Digital Ecosystem pilot project for the exchange of documents based on blockchain technology. According to the bank, the goal of the project is to study the possibilities of distributed storage of documents that can increase the speed, reliability and quality of interaction when exchanging them. Thanks to this model, documents can be transferred and stored in encrypted form, as well as use an electronic signature.

The innovation of the Digital Ecosystem project is that communication operators are not used in document management. Convenience and cost reduction are achieved through the use of participant networks, "said Stepan Kuznetsov, Managing Director of the Distributed Services Directorate of Sberbank.

Andrei Tsarikovsky, Deputy Head of the FAS Russia, noted: "A decentralized solution reduces costs - data centers are not required, equipment redundancy requirements are reduced."

The project involves the companies Aeroflot"," Russian Coal"," "ForteInvest." What is their role and whether they have already connected to blockchain-based document management, Sberbank does not comment. No details of the project have yet been disclosed, in particular, on the basis of what technology the system is being made and whether there were already the first transactions.

and large, they [Sberbank - ed.] Are trying to" pilot "the technology in order to understand how it works, how to live with it. There are a lot of nuances in technology, so it will take some number of years to run in, "says a TAdviser source in one of the largest Russian banks

A closed (permitted) blockchain without built-in cryptocurrency is, in fact, a distributed database in which the invariability of information is guaranteed. For the purposes of interdepartmental electronic document management, this is a suitable solution, "says Sergey Ivliev, co-founder of Lykke, head of Russia's first crypto-economics and blockchain systems laboratory at Perm University (PGNIU). - Of course, you can use traditional databases. Moreover, when using the blockchain, they will lose in the speed of operations. Blockchain is a fundamentally new technology that allows you to keep the "version of the truth" unchanged - the history of transactions, changes.

Director of Innovations of Otkritie Bank (part of the Russian blockchain research group) Alexei Blagirev notes that it is necessary to separate infrastructure projects from product ones, in which there will be competition.

"The presented project is infrastructural in this regard, and, of course, will be very useful to the banking community," he said. "Here is a very specific case to reduce the number of intermediaries in the process of working with documents among different companies."

Alexey Blagirev believes that despite the closed blockchain system, new members will be added to it, and participants will be able to provide services for third-party companies.

"Why does the bank make blockchain so far only to work with documents, and not with money transactions? It can be assumed that this is what has been worked out at the moment. There is no legislation or especially infrastructure for money transactions for the bank, "says a TAdviser source in the development of blockchain technology. "Sberbank has been actively and long studying the technology, they have seriously taken up this topic."

According to the source, at some point in Sberbank even suspended all IT developments in order to understand in which of them it is advisable to use blockchain.

Verification of deliveries through the blockchain "M.Video" and "Sberbank Factoring"

Another "soared" project is being implemented by Sberbank's subsidiary Sberbank Factoring and M.Video. In their interaction there was a problem of reconciliation of documents on deliveries - this is a long process, including many verifications, confirmations, etc. And no matter how previously they tried to optimize and speed up this process, the effect was insignificant.

As part of the pilot project, the companies tested the loading of the supply register, data encryption (hashing), their subsequent verification and storage using blockchain technology. For more details, see: Verification of deliveries through the blockchain "M.Video" and "Sberbank Factoring"

Exchange of information about fraudsters between banks

Among the working projects is also the exchange of information about fraudsters between banks. It was not possible to build a centralized system for this, and banks took a decentralized approach to blockchain technology positively, says a representative of Sberbank. According to him, several banks and some telecom operators are included in the exchange of data on fraudsters using blockchain as of mid-2017. Bank security services are enthusiastically using this, says Dmitry Bulychkov.

Among the solutions that Sberbank uses to create a blockchain is the Ripple platform, which has both its own protocol and an open source protocol. Bulychkov noted that he is more inclined to use open solutions.

2016

Sberbank launched a hunt for blockchain specialists and Big Data

Sberbank needs qualified IT specialists, the head of the bank German Gref said in early December 2016 during a "direct line" with employees, the Prime agency reports. ^[2] For them, the bank has opportunities for a serious increase in salaries.

The head of Sberbank lures blockchain and Big Data specialists with high salaries. Photo: The Moscow Post

Gref noted that the bank needs, in particular, specialists in the field of big data, as well as blockchain developers. According to him, pros in these areas will have high value in the bank, and, unlike other employees whose salaries are regulated and limited by the market, the bank is ready to significantly increase salaries to these specialists as their competencies increase.

Let's say those who are engaged in big data analysis. And there, the level of qualification, of course, is of very serious importance for the level of remuneration. And there is, of course, the opportunity to increase its competence, and, accordingly, to grow very seriously in terms of wages, "Gref said.

This also applies to specialists in the field of blockchain. The bank has created a laboratory for the study of this technology, a laboratory for artificial intelligence, etc.

These all expert branches, of course, will be paid completely differently as they progress in their professional competence of those people who work there, - said Gref.

German Gref has repeatedly mentioned that he considers blockchain technologies to be very promising, so the bank is ready to invest in their development.

Over the past year, Sberbank has shown great interest in blockchain technology. Since the fall of 2015, he has actively taken up his study, and at the end of September 2016 announced the first international deal through a new platform based on it. The bank has already joined several consortia involved in the development of this technology: in particular, in September 2016, it joined Hyperledger, which includes the largest players in the global financial market and leading IT companies (London Stock Exchange, SWIFT, Moscow Exchange, IBM, Cisco, Intel, etc.).

In the fall of 2016, Sberbank participated in the first transactions between banks (they tested the masterchain, a prototype blockchain service for exchanging customer data), and also, together with the FAS Russia, launched the Digital Ecosystem pilot project for exchanging documents based on blockchain technology.

As for the development of Big Data, in early 2016 Sberbank invested in a developer specializing in this - GridGain Systems (Gridgain Rus). Gref described it as a company "that won the tender from Oracle, IBM and others, was an order of magnitude higher than these largest companies" (for more details, see a separate article).

In addition, in November 2016, Sberbank launched the Open Data project based on Big Data technologies (more).

First transactions between banks in Masterchain testing

In early October 2016, Sberbank participated in the first transactions between banks when they tested a masterchain, a prototype blockchain service for exchanging customer data. It was created by the company "Cinimex" based on Ethereum technology.

First international blockchain-based deal

At the end of September 2016, Sberbank's subsidiary Business Environment announced the first international deal through a new blockchain-based platform.^[3]. Details of this project have not yet been disclosed either.

Participation in several blockchain development consortia

At this time, Sberbank is already one of several consortia involved in the development of this technology. In September 2016, he joined the international blockchain consortium Hyperledger, which includes the largest players in the global financial market and leading IT companies (for example, London Stock Exchange, SWIFT, Moscow Exchange, IBM, Cisco, Intel, etc.). In October, at the Finopolis 2016 forum, the Bank of Russia announced the creation of the Fintech consortium, which will include about ten large banks in the country.

2015: Account Management via Power of Attorney on Ethereum Platform

The head of Sberbank, German Gref, has repeatedly said that the blockchain has a future and this technology can turn the sphere of finance.

Back in December 2015, the bank began a project on the Ethereum platform, using technology when managing an account through a power of attorney (the following functionality was implemented: issuing a power of attorney, revoking it, searching for powers of attorney and working with an account based on a power of attorney).^[4]

See also Blockchain

Notes