The National Stock Exchange of Australia to Build New DLT Platform
- The new platform will be a joint venture between the owner of the NSE of Australia, NSX Limited, and iSignthis.
- Called ClearPay, the platform will compete with the Australian Securities Exchange, and offer same-day delivery versus payment (DVP) settlement.
View of the Sydney Opera House.
The operator of the National Stock Exchange of Australia (NSXA), NSX Limited, has partnered with iSignthis to work on a new blockchain-based project, the companies said on 20 February.
According to the announcement, the joint venture aims to create a digital securities trading platform, which will be based on distributed ledger technology (DLT). Called ClearPay, the new platform will provide same-day delivery versus payment (DVP) settlement, and compete with the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), which is also working on a distributed ledger technology initiative.
ClearPay’s blockchain-based Digital Exchange Subregister System (DESS) is expected to reduce the settlement processing time from the current three days, to same-day or early next day. iSignthis will also bring to the table its payment and Know Your Customer (KYC) services.
The CEO of iSignthis, who will also act as CEO of ClearPay, John Karantzis, said in a statement:
“It’s very exciting for us that the ClearPay JV will bring genuine competition to the Australian cash equities eco-system. iSignthis brings an inherent high technology capability to the NSXA, including its extensive payments and Know Your Customer’s Customer (“KYCC”) services, ISXPay and Paydentity.”
ClearPay, which is expected to go live “by early 2021”, will be made available to participants and share registry operators, with the role of central authority being played by the National Stock Exchange of Australia.
NSX Limited will initially acquire a 41 percent stake in ClearPay, with an investment of $3.2 million, while iSignthis keeps a 51 percent interest in the new venture. The platform will not seek a Clearing and Settlement Facility License, as the products offered to it by the NSXA will be subject to counterparty identification and verification via Paydentity.
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