ZURICH - Swiss bank UBS said on Thursday it had successfully piloted a blockchain-based payment system it has developed to improve efficiency of cross-border transactions known as UBS Digital Cash.

In the pilot, transactions were carried out with multinational clients and banks, including domestic transactions in Switzerland and cross-border payments in U.S. dollars, Swiss francs, euros and Chinese yuan, UBS said in a statement.

Andy Kollegger, head UBS Institutional & Multinational Banking, described blockchain-based payment solutions for cross-border payments as a strategic focus for UBS.

"UBS Digital Cash going forward aims to enable our clients to make cross-border payments in a much more efficient and transparent way," Kollegger said.

The pilot scheme included the transfer of liquidity between various UBS companies. UBS said it plans to expand and develop UBS Digital Cash in further steps.

The system should allow firms to manage intraday-liquidity and adjust liquidity buffers on their accounts more easily due to increased visibility of their cash positions, UBS said.

According to the bank, UBS Digital Cash uses a private blockchain network to which only permissioned clients have access. Settlement occurs via smart contracts that can automatically execute payments once certain conditions are met.

  - Reuters