The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE), the fourth largest stock exchange in the world by market cap, is seeking to bring blockchain technology to the insurance and pension industries, CoinTelegraph reported referring to report from China Securities Journal newspaper.

The SSE is collaborating with a number of major players in the insurance industry including Insurance Asset Management Association of China (IAMAC), Changjiang Pension Insurance Company, Tokyo Maritime Sunshine, and others.

By leveraging blockchain technology, the group aims to “create a new, high-efficiency, low-cost and safer insurance industry”.

In terms of insurance asset management, blockchain technology would help improve the flow of data and information between relevant parties, enable real-time monitoring of assets, and reduce fraud. In the field of pension management, the technology can help break the “information islands” between various stakeholders and enhance the security of sensitive information of all parties, track and trace historical annuity information, and significantly improve operational efficiency.

“The digital transformation of enabling insurance will build a blockchain service platform to solve the bottleneck problem of enterprise innovation. With convenient and efficient application development, flexible deployment mode and visual monitoring and operation platform,” the report said that the group will build “a blockchain BaaS (Blockchain as a Service) service platform for enterprises, reducing the threshold of enterprise technology innovation and risks.”

Earlier reports suggested that the SSE was planning to use blockchain technology in its securities transactions.

More recently, Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), the operator of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), announced its plans to build an “open and regulated, global ecosystem for digital assets”.