R3, the distributed ledger tech (DLT) and services firm has become a key council member of the Digital Asset Lab powered by Emirates NBD. The MENAT (Middle East, North Africa and Türkiye) based banking group’s lab already consists of PwC, a professional services firm, and Fireblocks, a digital asset transfer and direct custody technology platform, as the founding council members.
R3’s Corda is a distributed application and tokenisation platform powering regulated digital finance. Corda offers a permissioned ledger, asset modelling capabilities and a multi-party workflow engine in one interoperable and scalable distributed platform.
The expansion demonstrates Emirates NBD’s continuing commitment to spearhead innovation in the financial sector. With the new addition to the Digital Asset Lab, Emirates NBD is strengthening the new collaborative ecosystem. By leveraging R3’s regulated markets expertise, it can drive transformative advancements in digital assets, currencies and banking services.
Joining the Digital Asset Lab
Abdulla Qassem, group chief operating officer at Emirates NBD, commented: “We are pleased to welcome R3, a technology pioneer, to the Digital Asset Lab. The platform is significant to Emirates NBD’s innovation strategy as it serves as a testing ground for new financial technologies and digital assets. As a digital banking leader, the Lab demonstrates Emirates NBD’s commitment to stay at the forefront of innovation in a rapidly evolving financial landscape.”
He added: “Digital Asset Lab is set to significantly enhance our understanding of current and emerging technologies, along with their associated risks and benefits. This valuable insight will enable us to adapt and integrate these advancements into our services effectively and securely.”
David Rutter, chief executive officer at R3, said: “R3 is delighted to be partnering with Emirates NBD by participating in its new Digital Asset Lab. The region continues to go from strength to strength in global financial innovation, and the creation of the Lab marks another significant milestone in the growth of its burgeoning fintech sector.”
“As Lab partners, we are excited to support Emirates NBD in the development and testing of transformative technologies. Our efforts will contribute to vital initiatives centred around asset tokenisation, distributed ledger technology, and digital transformation in regulated financial markets.”
Digital asset focus
The Digital Asset Lab was announced in May 2023 at the Dubai FinTech Summit. The goal was to enable and accelerate digital asset and financial services innovation in the UAE. As a national banking champion in the UAE, Emirates NBD is establishing a robust platform with industry experts for the development of innovative ideas in financial services using digital assets and its underlying technologies.
The Lab focuses purely on digital assets. Specifically, how underlying technologies can be leveraged to enable customers to effectively manage their financial services requirements in the evolving and dynamic environment of digital assets.
