AMINA Bank and Crypto Finance Group have completed a payment infrastructure pilot on the Google Cloud universal ledger (GCUL).
The pilot programme demonstrates how distributed ledger technology can advance cross-border, cross-currency, and point-of-sale use cases.
“Google Cloud’s GCUL is proof that innovation and stability aren’t mutually exclusive. With this pilot, we enabled near-real-time, compliant settlements within the existing banking framework,” said Franz Bergmueller, CEO at AMINA Bank.
The pilot lays the groundwork for tackling major inefficiencies in global payment systems, where cross-border transactions can currently take days to settle and generate significant costs.
“This pilot demonstrates how we are collectively enabling the next generation of financial markets,” said Stijn Vander Straeten, CEO of Crypto Finance Group.
“As the Currency Operator for this pilot, we can build a trusted foundation for digital payments and tokenised assets.”
By using DLT for the underlying infrastructure while retaining wholesale commercial bank money, the pilot demonstrates a path to modernising payments without introducing new digital currencies or disrupting existing regulatory frameworks.
The successful completion of the pilot lays the foundation for broader implementation, with the next phase focused on scaling the platform by onboarding more financial institutions, moving from controlled testing to live operations.
“Cloud-native infrastructure has the ability to transform financial services, while respecting regulatory requirements,” said Matt Renner, president, chief revenue officer, Google Cloud.
“AMINA Bank and Crypto Finance’s pilot showcases how cutting-edge technology can facilitate near-instant, secure, compliant payments that work.”
