The RLN, operating on a multi-bank shared ledger, aims to improve the landscape of programmable money, providing a common platform for innovation across various forms of currency.

Leading institutions including Barclays, Citi, HSBC, Lloyds, Mastercard, NatWest, Nationwide, Santander, Standard Chartered, Virgin Money, and Visa are all actively participating in the latest phase of the project. 

This phase will concentrate on exploring several use cases aimed at enhancing security, transparency, and efficiency within financial transactions.

“This project is being run to test hypotheses about the envisaged benefits of a UK RLN as a platform-for-innovation, and will be integral to future-proofing and progressing the UK’s financial infrastructure,” said Jana Mackintosh, managing director, payment innovation and resilience at UK Finance.

One of the primary objectives of the RLN experimentation phase is to implement a “payment-upon-delivery” system for physical products, with a specific focus on reducing fraud in online marketplaces. 

Additionally, the initiative seeks to streamline the process of home purchasing, providing customer transparency and combating conveyancing fraud. Furthermore, the project aims to assist digital bond settlement, bridging the gap between digital customer funds and digital assets.

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The collaborative effort is scheduled to run until the summer, and involves industry giants such as EY, alongside a technology consortium including R3, Quant, DXC, and Coadjute. Together, they will explore the potential customer and business benefits, technical feasibility, and legal framework necessary for the successful implementation of the RLN.

“We live in a digital age, in which people and companies expect digital finance to operate globally at speed, with better security and at scale – but our legacy payments and financial infrastructure has not kept up. As the UK seeks a leadership position in financial markets, projects like the RLN highlight the central role that shared ledgers will play in this transition and offer a model we can extend to other markets,” said Gilbert Verdian, founder and CEO of Quant.