Big banks are backing blockchain trial to speed up property sales

Blockchain technology has been gaining traction in markets where large transactions are commonplace and frequent. In fact, many of the biggest lenders in the world, law firms and real estate companies are backing that technology to streamline the transaction process.

Barclays Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc (RBS) and Clifford Chance LLP were among 40 companies to test a new platform developed by Instant Property Network, a company backed by blockchain software firm R3. IPN said it could cut the time it takes to buy a house from months to weeks and, if applied globally, could result in an annual saving of about $160 billion.

If the platform catches on, it would be a rare example of financial firms using blockchain -- the distributed ledger designed to track Bitcoin transactions -- for consumer products. Most bank projects have to date have focused on areas such as syndicated corporate loans and trade finance.

“We are near the end of the hype cycle and have not found a great consumer solution for distributed ledger technology until now,’’ Dan Salmons, director for mortgage innovation at RBS, said by phone. “Property is an industry that is ripe for this, where a complex difficult process for customers could be made cheaper and more transparent.’’

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