French multinational bank BNP Paribas has announced that Smart Basket and Smart Lien have won the first Bizhackathon platform for the Americas, which it hosted on the 7th and 8th September in New York.

"BNP Paribas’ focus on new technology has been a priority for decades so we are glad to be hosting the First Americas Bizhackathon in New York" declared Bruno d'Illiers, Deputy Head of Corporate and Institutional Banking Americas, BNP Paribas, in his speech.

The event brought together blockchain experts, customers, employees and the group of personalities from Microsoft, R3, or Smartcontract and BlockStack Labs. It aimed at improving the customer experience, and the services of BNP Paribas CIB through blockchain.

“Smart Basket offers totally secure basket trades. A project that provides new opportunities for BNP Paribas customers eligible for transparency and greater reliability”, the bank explained. “Smart Lien uses blockchain to provide a service proposing an increased efficiency in the management of receivables.” 

The bank has been focusing on new technologies and invested in a dedicated blockchain team of developers and managers and held multiple Bizhackathon events in Europe. It is a member of the R3 consortium, European CDC initiative, in addition to being on the Board of Digital Asset Holdings.

Last month, BNP Paribas unveiled its new FinTech laboratory set up at its New York headquarters during the blockchain hackathon. More recently, the bank revealed that it is working with a number of clients to co-develop new products and services based on blockchain technology, in order to optimise the Trade Finance and Cash Management activities of BNP Paribas Group clients.