New York-based tech giant IBM has obtained a 7% stake in we.trade, a blockchain-enabled trade finance platform that’s controlled by 12 major banking institutions.

Started by nine banks back in January 2017 under the name Digital Trade Chain, the platform was renamed as we.trade in October of that year. The distributed ledger technology (DLT)-based network went live in June 2018.

We .trade’s stakeholders reportedly involve CaixaBank, Deutsche Bank, Erste Group, Nordea, HSBC, KBC, Rabobank, Société Générale, Santander, UBS, UniCredit, and IBM.

Germany’s UniCredit AG, Greece-based EuroBank, ČSOB, Komerční Banka and Česká Spořitelna in the Czech Republic are reportedly licensees of we.trade.

The blockchain-powered network has been executed utilizing the most current emphasis of the IBM Blockchain Platform. We .trade trade finance network has been developed to assist link buyers, sellers, insurance companies, banking service providers, and logistics firms via a platform that streamlines global trading.

Traders can utilize we.trade to place orders, oversee the order-to-payment process, and obtain financing as needed. The platform’s users can also join with potential trading partners through the network.

The banks are supporting the initiative claim that momentum has been advancing steadily through the last few months as firms are preparing to substitute time-consuming and inefficient paper-based trade finance processes with digitized ones.

Ciaran McGowan, CEO at we.trade, stated in a statement, “The enthusiasm for this platform underscores the need to continue to invest and expand access to a growing number of organizations.”

Commencing in July of this year, we.trade plans to enlarge services to various other banks and consumers in Europe before entering other markets, which will involve Asia.

The we.trade platform developers intend to concentrate on accomplishing more comprehensive interoperability with other DLT-powered trade finance solutions. The company has reportedly combined with Hong Kong’s eTradeConnect, a blockchain-enabled trade finance network established by 12 major banks in Asia.

IBM stated that banks utilizing the we-trade network would have the option to connect to the tech giant’s competitors that allow cloud services such as Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Microsoft’s solutions.

Jason Kelley, general manager of blockchain services at IBM, said in a statement, “Innovative technology and new pricing structures will help more banks align with internal production controls using their choice of cloud services. Meanwhile, we.trade aims to help banks create new trusted trade corridors and expand markets by interconnecting with other regional trade services platforms.”