QIWI: Five Banks to Join Russian Take on R3

Russia’s blockchain consortium will initially incorporate five banks along with the project’s initiator, payments processor QIWI, and the Bank of Russia as a regulator.

According to TASS, speaking at an informal meeting during the Saint Petersburg International Economic Forum, QIWI CEO Sergey Solonin said:

“We’ve already announced a consortium. There’ll be something next week. In technological terms, I mean. There’ll be a new picture, the central bank will announce it. It’s not about security, it’s about new technologies of using blockchain in banking.”

QIWI has first announced its take on R3 in late May. Back then, it was announced that QIWI’s consortium would welcome Sberbank, Binbank and Aplha Bank.

The decision was primarily justified by the international sanctions imposed on Russia by the EU and the US.

Earlier Sergey Solonin announced that QIWI failed to agree the bitruble project with the Bank of Russia. The project was underway since last September.