Innovate UK, which was allocated £561 million to back innovative fintech startups within Britain, has awarded £248,000 to London-based Tramonex, a blockchain developer firm tasked with designing a prototype foreign exchange remittance system.
According to the abstract, the £248,000 grant will used for building a blockchain-based platform that can execute 10-minute foreign exchange transfers. The platform will be fully automated and will perform all the necessary KYC/AML procedures to remain compliant with existing regulations.
Amine Berraoui, Tramonex Co-founder and CEO, told CoinDesk that the new capital will be used to finish their proof-of-concept platform and to further expand its functionality for corporate and commercial use, “We are quite advanced in our prototype already, it’s more about looking for different approaches to handle the technology. Then to develop the commercial clients.” Berraoui explained.
As part of the deal, the £248,000 grant will be disbursed to Tramonex in quarterly installments, which are contingent on the successful completion of certain goals and benchmarks.
Tramonex will also be required to demonstrate the functionality of the platform to the UK Financial Conduct Authority as well as several other regulatory agencies, in order to get approval for use in the marketplace.
Berraoui is hopeful the new blockchain remittance system will allow small and mid-sized business to cut a significant portion of their forex exchange costs, which can go as high as 10% per transaction with traditional foreign exchange operators.
Tramonex is following in the footsteps of Circle – which recently became the first regulated digital currency firm in the UK – by applying for an E-money license.
If you liked this article follow us on Twitter @themerklenews and make sure to subscribe to our newsletter to receive the latest bitcoin and altcoin price analysis and the latest cryptocurrency news.
