Iress acquires blockchain platform

BC Gateways claimed its network was the world’s first whole-of-industry blockchain platform for financial services when it launched last year.

The Gateway platform has aimed to allow data to be published and distributed with a “shared source,” joining workflows between multiple parties, rather than having it be “distributed and disconnected”.

So far, BC Gateways has had an initial focus on helping Australian financial institutions share large volumes of pricing, tax and regulatory data across the investment management value chain.

Iress chief executive Andrew Walsh said the two platform providers are looking to meet demand from financial institutions for cost-effective, automated and compliant technology to share data.

“Financial institutions have no shortage of data – but without the right systems and levels of automation, data risks [are] inaccurate or difficult or expensive to manage. In today’s environment, neither outcome is workable for financial institutions,” Mr Walsh said.

“BC Gateways has laid a strong foundation with its platform and its blockchain use case, and we are looking forward to accelerating the solution in this segment.”

BC Gateways founder Andy Hutchings Broso said the blockchain platform was launched with the support of institutions looking to drive efficiency and accountability in data flows across the sector.

“We are now pleased to be joining Iress, which shares our vision and has the experience, resources and reach to support us in bringing this much-needed change to the industry,” Mr Hutchings Broso said.

“It means essential pricing, administrative, regulatory and tax data will not only be more efficiently distributed but also integrated into end-user processes, in turn bringing about better industry and investor outcomes.”

The transaction was completed on Monday.