Today, American Express joined the Hyperledger Blockchain Project.
"The Hyperledger project is an open source collaborative effort created to advance cross-industry blockchain technologies. It is a global collaboration including leaders in finance, banking, IoT, supply chain, manufacturing and technology." - Hyperledger.org
'AmEx chief information officer Marc Gordon said:
"We're excited to join Hyperledger, as we're looking to take full advantage of blockchain to deliver new and innovative products for our customers and partners, while transforming existing business processes and applications.”' -Coindesk.com
American Express already has a bit of history with Blockchain.
In an article titled "Bitcoin and the Future of Blockchain in International Payments Systems", author Frances Coppola concludes "Blockchain technology is set to revolutionise international payments."
"American Express Ventures, the firm’s venture arm, invested in bitcoin startup Abra’s $12m Series A round in September 2015 – a move that it said could ultimately have an impact on the kinds of services it offers." -Coindesk
American Express is not the only Card Giant exploring Blockchain.
" In late 2015, American Express became an investor in Abra, a bitcoin startup and payments network that uses the cryptocurrency for transactions. Meanwhile, Visa, in December 2015, claimed blockchain technology and bitcoin as a method of payment were “more real than ever” and has since set up an exclusive blockchain development lab in India. More recently, Visa announced its intention to deploy a blockchain-based interbank payments network between European banks. The world’s largest payments network has also deployed VisaB2B, a blockchain-based solution developed in partnership with industry firm Chain Inc that will challenge the traditional SWIFT messaging network with large volume cross-border transfers. Not to be left behind, Mastercard unveiled its own set of blockchain APIs in late 2016, after the company’s operations chief revealed ongoing interest in the innovation." -CryptoCoinsNews
Sources and references:
http://www.coindesk.com/american-express-hyperledger-blockchain-project/
https://www.cryptocoinsnews.com/american-express-joins-hyperledger-project-blockchain/
http://allcoinsnews.com/2017/01/30/american-express-joins-hyperledger-as-premier-member/
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