Blockchain services to be available to freelancers thanks to Russia’s Alfa Bank. Alfa-Bank, one of Russia’s largest private commercial banks, is exploring blockchain technology in its freelancer services.
According to the December 1 announcement, Alfa-Bank will use blockchain-based software to simplify services for freelancers and self-employed employees. Centered on the Waves Enterprise blockchain platform, the new Alfa-Bank service covers the entire registration and remuneration process for self-employed persons, including payment settlement, income registration and tax payments.
Denis Dodon, director of Alfa-Bank’s research and development center, said that the new blockchain-based service enables freelancers to get direct remuneration via any bank “DLT and embedded smart contracts with an end-to-end integration into the banking core settlements and clearings system allows to effect automatic formation of payment instructions […] with direct transmission of payment instructions via DLT to cards and bank accounts of self-employed in any bank.”
The new service comprises two applications including the enterprise-focused “Alfa.Corporate” and “My Income” platform for individuals. Igor Kuzmichev, chief commercial officer at the Waves Enterprise, shared that Waves Enterprise’s blockchain technology provides a secure data exchange between the bank and a business as well as transparent and immutable data storage.
Kuzmichev noted that Waves Enterprise is acting as a main tool for the bank’s so-called “Bank-as-a-Service” approach “Thanks to blockchain core features — data transparency and immutability — new bank services can now be developed at customer’ side but not in the core banking system environment. This approach significantly boosts time-to-market and brings new developers into the fintech ecosystem.”
Kuzmichev said that the target audience for the new service includes self-employed staff such as taxi drivers, cleaning and repair services, tutors and others.
Alfa-Bank has emerged as one of Russia’s most blockchain-friendly banks. In early November 2020, Alfa-Bank became the first Russian bank to join Contour, a DLT network linking global financial giants such as HSBC, ING and Citi.
[image: Wikimedia Commons]
