Seven major banks confirm transfers via blockchain in 2018
Seven international banks are set to launch a lower-cost, cross-border wiring service based on the Ripple blockchain next year. Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ (BTMU), Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Canada's Imperial Bank of Commerce, Australia's Westpac Banking, Standard Chartered Bank of the UK, Spain's Banco Santander and Royal Bank of Scotland will deploy the new system, with up to 90 others joining at a later date, according to Ripple. At BTMU, it can cost JPY3,000 and JPY5,500 (around $27 to $50) to transfer funds and take several days. In contrast, blockchain systems can process transactions immediately and securely.
TOKYO -- Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ and six other international banking groups will launch next year a faster and lower-cost cross-border wiring service that uses blockchain, the core innovation behind virtual currency.

Banks have poured large sums into building high-security systems for fund transfers. But costs for maintaining and updating them have reached the point where the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group unit and others have begun turning to blockchain.