Toyota Financial Services is the latest to join the blockchain consortium led by financial innovation firm R3. It is the first automotive financial services provider to join the consortium.

Welcoming the new member, R3 CEO David Rutter commented:

"We are delighted to welcome Toyota Financial Services to our ever-growing network of non-bank institutions. Distributed and shared ledger-inspired technology holds the potential to revolutionise the infrastructure used by all participants in financial markets, and we continue to diversify our member base to reflect the interests of firms across the sell- and buy-side."

Toyota Financial Services (TFS) offers an extensive line of financing plans and vehicle and payment protection products to Toyota customers and dealers in the U.S. According IBTimes UK, TFS will be collaborating with over 50 of the world's largest financial institutions to develop ground-breaking commercial applications leveraging distributed and shared ledger technology for the financial services industry.

"Toyota Financial Services is excited to join the R3CEV consortium to advance the use of distributed ledger technology in finance. We believe this technology will ultimately lower costs, increase efficiency and make auto finance more transparent for our customers," said Chris Ballinger, CFO and Global Chief Officer, Strategic Innovation. "Beyond finance, we believe additional applications of the technology in auto manufacturing and sales will benefit our customers by making mobility more affordable and available. TFS welcomes the opportunity to contribute to the development and advancement of the R3 ecosystem."

The automotive financial services provider joins the global network of R3 partners united in its lab environment, the R3 Lab and Research Centre, which has quickly become a pivotal platform for collaborative research and testing of blockchain and distributed ledger based technologies. In April, R3 unveiled Corda - its shared ledger platform specifically designed to record, manage and synchronise financial agreements between regulated financial institutions.