BMW blockchain loyalty programme, EV charging networks and other blockchain initiatives

Blockchain technology remains one of the hottest trends among financial, government and commercial organisations around the world. Information about new projects and initiatives in this field arrives daily. ForkLog magazine offers an overview of the most interesting latest initiatives.

Contour launches blockchain-based trade-finance platform

The global trade-finance platform Contour (formerly Voltron) launched after the completion of beta testing. Its aim is to optimise and accelerate traditional trade-finance processes, primarily the issuance of letters of credit between counterparties.

Issuance and processing of letters of credit by traditional methods can take, on average, 10 days. Contour CEO Carl Wegner said the platform reduces this time by 90%—to 24 hours.

Contour’s development began in 2017 with the participation of eight banking shareholders: Bangkok Bank, BNP Paribas, CTBC, HSBC, ING, Standard Chartered, SEB and Citi.

Before moving to a commercial beta version as an independent legal entity registered in Singapore, the platform underwent an extensive testing phase with more than 80 banks and corporates, with trials in 17 countries and deals spanning commodities, petrochemicals, energy, metals, retail and textiles.

MOBI launches global standard for blockchain-enabled EV charging networks

Mobility Open Blockchain Initiative (MOBI) working group for integrating electric vehicles (EVGI) launched a global standard that enables the creation of decentralised EV-charging networks.

The initial specifications of the standard focus on three main use cases: peer-to-peer applications, tokenised carbon credits (TCC) and vehicle-to-grid integration (V2G).

According to the organisation, electric vehicles, charging devices and power producers can have a “secure identity”, communicate using a standard messaging format and automatically record transactions on the blockchain through the EVGI standard.

Using the standard and its applications, MOBI hopes to improve road safety, reduce carbon emissions and ease traffic congestion.

The chairs of EVGI are Honda and General Motors (GM); the working group also includes Accenture, CPChain, IBM, IOTA Foundation, Pacific Gas & Electric Company (PG&E), Politecnico di Torino and R3.

KPMG unveils blockchain-based CO2 emissions accounting solution

The global accounting firm KPMG introduced the Climate Accounting Infrastructure (CAI) for accounting and tracking greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.

By using blockchain, it will provide secure storage of environmental data. This will aid in the assessment of climate risks that could affect property values.

The system uses Internet of Things (IoT) sensors gathering CO2-emission data from external data sources, which are subsequently recorded on the blockchain.

“Beyond finance, investors have begun paying particular attention to environmental, social and governance factors. The initiative to curb greenhouse gas emissions has gained support among investors. Blockchain will help organisations model the impact of climate risks on business processes and financial performance. At the same time, environmental data and their in-depth analysis will be used in real time,” said Arun Ghosh, head of KPMG’s blockchain practice.

Context Labs and Prescriptive Data, as well as the blockchain company Allinfra, contributed to the development of CAI.

BMW to launch a blockchain-based loyalty programme

Image: BMW Korea.

BMW’s Korean arm is launching a blockchain-based rewards programme, The Korea Herald reports.

Under the BMW Vantage programme, participants will earn points that can be redeemed for products or discounts on certain services.

New BMW customers can earn between 300,000 and 900,000 points. The highest points are offered to buyers of the 5 Series and 6 Series, with the X series awarding 600,000 points. Certain rewards are also available for buyers of used cars.

Customers can also earn points by taking part in games and other social activity in the manufacturer’s own mobile app.

Points can be used to partially pay for servicing and other services at partner service centres. The most active participants will receive invitations to company events.

In the initial phase, the programme will be available only in South Korea, with plans to roll it out to other countries.

A full-scale launch of the BMW Vantage programme is expected by the end of the year.

Also covered:

• 43% of corporate blockchains are attributable to the financial sector.
• The Deputy Prime Minister of Russia named blockchain as one of the priorities for technology development.
• The CIA opened a division to study blockchain technology.
• Ant Group launched a trading blockchain platform on the eve of the largest IPO in history.
• Technology giant IBM risks losing its status as the largest holder of blockchain patents to Alibaba.
• The Bank of Thailand utilised IBM’s blockchain to issue bonds worth $1.6bn.
• Australia will allocate nearly $5 million to blockchain projects.
• In the United States, digital signatures on the blockchain could be given legal effect.

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