区块链在花旗银行的应用有哪些,区块链在花旗银行的应用研究

今天我们来谈谈区块链在花旗银行的应用，花旗银行是美国第三大银行，一直在投资和研究区块链技术，以帮助客户更安全、更有效地完成金融交易。下面我们来讨论三个与区块链在花旗银行的应用相关的关键词：

1.花旗银行的区块链平台

花旗银行的区块链平台是一个安全、可靠的分布式账本技术，由花旗银行投资开发的，专为客户提供金融服务。该平台可以跨越银行边界，支持多种货币和多种金融交易。花旗银行的区块链平台提供的服务包括贸易金融、跨境支付、资产管理、证券交易、资产清算等。它可以帮助客户提高资金流动性、加快交易速度、降低交易成本，同时也可以提高金融服务的安全性。

2.花旗银行的区块链应用

花旗银行的区块链应用是指花旗银行利用区块链技术为客户提供的服务。花旗银行的应用主要集中在贸易金融、跨境支付、资产管理、证券交易、资产清算等方面。花旗银行的区块链应用可以帮助客户更有效地完成金融交易，提高交易速度、降低交易成本，同时也可以提高金融服务的安全性。

3.花旗银行的区块链实践

花旗银行已经开始将区块链技术应用到实际业务中，与其他金融机构和企业合作，开发出基于区块链的金融产品和服务。例如，花旗银行与英国招商银行合作，开发出基于区块链的跨境支付服务；花旗银行与微软合作，开发出基于区块链的贸易金融产品；花旗银行还与瑞士洛桑大学合作，开发出基于区块链的资产清算系统。花旗银行的区块链实践，为客户提供更安全、更有效的金融服务，从而推动金融服务的创新。

以上就是关于区块链在花旗银行的应用的三个关键词：花旗银行的区块链平台、花旗银行的区块链应用以及花旗银行的区块链实践。花旗银行通过投资和研发区块链技术，为客户提供更安全、更有效的金融服务，推动金融服务的创新。

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Ⅰ Application aspects of blockchain

The main application scope of blockchain includes: digital currency, transaction settlement of financial assets, digital government affairs, certificate deposit and anti-counterfeiting data services, etc. field. Blockchain is a database technology that links data blocks in an orderly manner. Each block is responsible for recording a file data and encrypting it to ensure that the data cannot be modified or forged.

Blockchain is essentially a distributed database system that uses cryptography technology for multi-party participation, joint maintenance, and continuous growth. It is also called a distributed shared ledger. Each page in the shared ledger is a block, and each block is filled with transaction records. The anonymity, decentralization, openness, transparency, and non-tamperability of blockchain technology make it highly favored by enterprises and has gained More extensive application attempts.

Blockchain application scope 1. Financial field

Blockchain can provide a trust mechanism and has the potential to change the financial infrastructure. Various financial assets such as equity, bonds, bills, warehouse receipts, fund shares, etc. It can be integrated into the blockchain technology system and become a digital asset on the chain, which can be stored, transferred and traded on the blockchain.

The decentralization of blockchain technology can reduce transaction costs and make financial transactions more convenient, intuitive and secure. The combination of blockchain technology and the financial industry will inevitably create more and more business models, service scenarios, business processes and financial products, thereby bringing more impact to the development of financial markets, financial institutions, financial services and financial formats. . With the improvement of blockchain technology and the combination of blockchain technology with other financial technologies, blockchain technology will gradually adapt to the application of large-scale financial scenarios.

2. Public service field

Traditional public services rely on limited data dimensions, and the information obtained may not be comprehensive enough and have a certain lag. The non-tamperable nature of the blockchain makes the digital certification on the chain highly credible. It can be used to establish new authentication mechanisms in the fields of property rights, notarization and public welfare, and improve the management level of public services.

Relevant information in the public welfare process, such as donation projects, fundraising details, fund flows, recipient feedback, etc., can be stored on the blockchain to meet the privacy protection of project participants and other relevant laws and regulations. Under the premise of requirements, public disclosure will be made conditionally to facilitate public and social supervision.

3. Information security field

Using the traceability and non-tampering characteristics of blockchain, we can ensure the authenticity of data sources and ensure the non-forgery of data. Blockchain technology will fundamentally change information Security issues of the propagation path.

Blockchain is reflected in the following three points in the field of information security:

User identity authentication protects data integrity and effectively prevents DDoS attacks

The distributed storage architecture of blockchain will make Hackers are at a loss as to what to do. Some companies have begun to develop a distributed Internet domain name system based on blockchain to eliminate the root cause of the current DNS registration shortcomings and make the network system cleaner and more transparent.

4. Internet of Things field

Blockchain + Internet of Things canIn order to allow each device on the Internet of Things to operate independently, the information generated by the entire network can be guaranteed through smart contracts on the blockchain.

Security: Traditional IoT devices are highly vulnerable to attacks, data loss and maintenance costs are high. Typical information security risk issues for IoT devices include low firmware versions, lack of security patches, permission loopholes, too many device network ports, and unencrypted information transmission. The blockchain's consensus mechanism for network-wide node verification, asymmetric encryption technology and distributed data storage will significantly reduce the risk of hacker attacks.

Trustability: The traditional Internet of Things is managed and controlled by a centralized cloud server. Due to the security of the device and the opacity of the centralized server, it is difficult to effectively protect user privacy data. The blockchain is a distributed account book. Each block is interconnected and has its own independent working ability, ensuring that the information on the chain will not be tampered with at will. Distributed ledgers can therefore provide trust, ownership records, transparency and communication support for the Internet of Things.

Effectiveness: Limited by cloud services and maintenance costs, the Internet of Things is difficult to achieve large-scale commercial use. The traditional Internet of Things realizes communication between things through centralized cloud servers. The disadvantage of this model is that as the number of access devices increases, the server faces more load, requiring enterprises to invest a lot of money to maintain the normal operation of the IoT system.

Blockchain technology can directly realize point-to-point transactions, omitting the labor expenditure of other intermediaries or personnel, which can effectively reduce the costs incurred by third-party services and maximize benefits.

5. Supply chain field

The supply chain consists of many participating entities, with a large amount of interaction and collaboration. Information is discretely stored in their own systems, lacking transparency. The lack of smooth information makes it difficult for various participating entities to accurately understand the real-time status and existing problems of related matters, affecting the collaborative efficiency of the supply chain. When disputes arise between parties, it is time-consuming and laborious to provide evidence and pursue accountability.

Blockchain can make data open and transparent among various entities, thereby forming a complete, smooth, and non-tamperable information flow throughout the entire supply chain. This can ensure that all entities promptly discover problems arising during the operation of the supply chain system and find targeted solutions, thus improving the overall efficiency of supply chain management.

6. Automotive Industry

Last year announced a partnership using blockchain to build a proof of concept to streamline the car rental process and build it into a “click, sign up, and drive” process. Future customers choose what they want The rented car enters the public ledger of the blockchain; then, sitting in the driver's seat, the customer signs the rental agreement and insurance policy, and the blockchain updates the information simultaneously. This is not an imagination, for car sales and car registration Said, this type of process may also develop into reality.

7. Stock Trading

For many years, many companies have worked to make the process of buying, selling, and trading stocks easy. Emerging Blockchain Chain startups believe that blockchain technology can make this process more secure and automated than any previous solution.Solution At the same time, blockchain startup Chain is cooperating with Nasdaq to realize the equity transfer of private companies through blockchain

8. Government Management

Government information, project bidding and other information are open and transparent. Government work is usually subject to public attention and supervision. Since blockchain technology can ensure the transparency and immutability of information, it plays a great role in the implementation of transparent government management. There is a certain degree of information opacity in government project bidding, and companies also have the risk of information leakage during the sealed bidding process. Blockchain can ensure that bidding information cannot be tampered with, and can ensure the transparency of information, forming a shared trust among competitors who do not trust each other. And it can arrange subsequent smart contracts through the blockchain to ensure the construction progress of the project and prevent the growth of corruption to a certain extent.

There are many more applications of blockchain technology, and this is just a fulcrum of blockchain applications. In the future, blockchain technology will be applied everywhere

Ⅱ What is blockchain

Blockchain is a distributed data storage, point-to-point transmission, and consensus mechanism , encryption algorithms and other new application models of computer technology. Blockchain is an important concept of Bitcoin. It is essentially a decentralized database.

At the same time, as the underlying technology of Bitcoin, it is a series of data blocks generated using cryptographic methods. Each data block contains a batch of Bitcoin network transaction information, which is used to verify its Validity of information (anti-counterfeiting) and generation of the next block.

In fact, the original English version of the Bitcoin white paper does not appear in the word blockchain, but uses chain of blocks. In the earliest Chinese translation of the Bitcoin white paper, chain of blocks was translated into blockchain. This is the earliest time when the Chinese word "blockchain" appeared.

(2) Application of Blockchain in Citibank Extended Reading

area Application of blockchain:

Blockchain has potential huge application value in financial fields such as international exchange, letters of credit, equity registration and stock exchanges. The application of blockchain technology in the financial industry can eliminate the need for third-party intermediaries and achieve direct point-to-point connection, thereby greatly reducing costs and quickly completing transaction payments.

For example, Visa launched Visa B2B Connect based on blockchain technology, which can provide institutions with a lower-cost, faster and safer cross-border payment method to process business-to-business transactions worldwide. .

Be aware that traditional cross-border payments require 3-5 days of waiting and a 1-3% transaction fee. Visa also launched the first Bitcoin debit card in conjunction with Coinbase, and Citibank is testing the cryptocurrency Citicoin on the blockchain.

Ⅲ Bitcoin may becomeCiti, the currency of choice for international trade, says Bitcoin is at a tipping point

Block Sky Eye APP News: A report from Citigroup (Citi) pointed out that looking forward, Bitcoin may “become the currency of choice for international trade” ". A new report from Citi, obtained by CoinDesk, claims that Bitcoin is at an “existential tipping point” due to massive institutional investment and a strengthening regulatory base.

Although opinions on cryptocurrencies vary, it is undoubtedly the inspiration for the blockchain-based economy and the creation of a new decentralized cryptocurrency market, according to Citi Global Paper from Perspectives and Solutions (GPS), Citibank’s “thought leadership” arm.

Citi calls Bitcoin the “North Star” of blockchain because its core innovations form the cornerstone of launching this ecosystem. Whether it cedes that status to stablecoins or central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) depends on how it can handle inefficiencies related to speed, scale, etc.

It will also be important to see whether institutional interest cools as life returns to normal post-covid-19 and inflation concerns recede. “Camping (sic) institutional enthusiasm would remove a key source of support for Bitcoin and potentially the broader ecosystem, pushing it back to its more speculative roots,” the bank’s report said.

Citi’s conclusion quotes a quote often quoted by Arthur Schopenhauer: All truth goes through three stages: First, it is laughed at. Second, there was strong opposition. Third, it is considered self-evident.

The report concluded: "Whatever the future of Bitcoin, it has made such progress in just over a decade."

The report states that due to the “With its decentralized design, lack of foreign exchange risk, fast (and potentially cheaper) fund transfers, secure payment channels and traceability,” it is expected to “become the currency of choice for international trade.”

IV Application Cases of Open Banking

As a new strategic thinking and strategic transformation direction for bank development, open banking has caused an open banking craze around the world - domestic and foreign banks Institutions have laid out open banking strategies one after another. In Chapter 3, we mentioned the possible construction models of open banking. How these construction models are applied in practice and what models different commercial banks should use for construction are all issues we are concerned about. In this chapter, we will introduce the open banking construction cases of different commercial banks at home and abroad. Through these cases, a thorough study of open banking in practice can allow us to grasp the current situation of open banking, think about the future of commercial banks, and at the same time, We can also have a better answer to the above questions.

Commercial banks have uneven development, so they have different models in building open banks. We mentioned four possible open bank construction models in Chapter 3: self-construction, investment, cooperation, and alliance. Looking at these four development models, there are two important influencing factors: risk tolerance and industry influence. For example, commercial banks with high risk tolerance and strong industry influence can adopt the self-building model, while commercial banks with lower risk tolerance and weak industry influence can adopt the alliance model.

These four models can basically cover the development status of all commercial banks. In practice, some banks also build based on these models.

The concept of open banking originated in the UK, but in terms of practical application, European and American countries are at the forefront. Generally speaking, the application practices of open banking in European and American countries are divided into two categories: one is that large banks with high risk tolerance and industry influence independently build open banking platforms, such as Citibank, BBVA Bank, etc.; the other is those with high risk tolerance and industry influence. Small and medium-sized banks with a certain risk tolerance cooperate with third parties and integrate into the financial technology circle with the help of external forces to improve their technological innovation capabilities and efficiency, such as Solaris Bank in Germany and Yodlee in the United States.

(1) Citibank

Citibank is a retail bank under Citigroup. It was established on June 16, 1812 and is headquartered in New York, USA. Formerly known as City Bank of New York. Citigroup has customers all over the world and currently provides services to approximately 200 million customers in more than 100 countries around the world. The service groups are mainly individuals, institutions, enterprises and government departments. In terms of services, Citi provides customers with a wide range of financial products and services, including consumer banking services and credit, corporate and investment banking services, as well as brokerage, insurance and asset management. These services are unmatched by any other financial institution.

The U.S. government has not formulated specific regulatory regulations for open banking, and has basically issued guiding opinions to promote the development of open banking in the United States. As a "century-old bank" in the United States, Citibank has witnessed the historical rise and fall of too many banks. Now facing the transformation and development of banks, Citibank actively carries out open banking practices and is at the forefront of the industry. Its construction model can be summarized as "self-building as the basis". "Mainly, supplemented by cooperation": With the self-built API developer center as the core, it is also supplemented by cooperation with external financial technology companies.

Today, Citibank has established branches in the United States, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Poland, Russia, Australia, Hong Kong, China, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, the United Arab Emirates, etc. Open banking services are available in 16 countries or regions.

1. Citibank API Developer Center - 11 APIs

In November 2016, Citibank launched the Citibank API Developer Center (API Developer Hub) globally. This is Citibank’s first step towards open banking. Important practices. In this practice, Citibank has mainly launched 11 categories of API products: providing account information, ATM branch locator, authorization, bank card, customer information, insurance, fund transfer, user guidance, points payment, and services.

1) Account Information

The Account Information API product allows developers to retrieve the account information and transaction information of Citi customers who have been authorized to the corresponding application.

2) ATM branch locator

The ATM branch locator API product allows developers to obtain ATM and branch locations in a specific country or region.

3) Authorization

Authorization API products can authenticate Citi customer accounts and authorize third-party applications to access account data.

4) Bank Card

The Bank Card API product gives Citi customers the ability to manage credit cards and debit cards.

5) Customer information

The customer information API product allows developers to retrieve and obtain Citi customer profile data, such as name, phone number, address, email address and other basic information.

6) Insurance

The insurance API product allows the insurance platform to obtain Citibank customer accounts that meet the insurance reservation conditions.

7) Fund transfer

Fund transfer API products help Citi customers transfer funds between different accounts and institutions.

8) User onboarding

User onboarding API products allow developers or third parties to initiate a basic account opening process for new customers.

9) Points Payment

The Points Payment API product enables applications to accept Citi customers to pay for purchases in Citi Reward Points, so that Citi customers can use Citi Points to pay on third-party platforms.

10) Service

Service API products allow Citi customers to browse Citibank statements and change ATM passwords on third-party platforms.

11) Utilities

Utility API products allow developers or third-party applications to retrieve field attributes, validation arrays, etc. in certain regional markets to simplify cross-border multi-market applications. Development of procedures and identification of differences.

The above API products have been provided in 16 countries and regions, among which access to account information, customer information, and points payment areThese 16 countries are all accessible, and the access rights to the other seven categories of API products vary in each region.

2. Developer Center - Five Operation Steps

If external collaborators and developers want to call Citibank's API products, they need to go through the relevant steps in the Developer Center first. Citibank's developer center consists of a sandbox that provides simulated test data tables. This sandbox provides developers with the same operating environment as the actual one, where developers can simulate API calls. Before going into production, put the public API into a sandbox to validate the product while protecting customer data.

The operation process of Citibank Developer Center mainly includes five steps: registration, obtaining customer ID and key, authorization, sandbox testing, and further exploration after putting into production.

1) Registration

Developers need to use their own email addresses to register on the Developer Center website before building APIs; after submitting the registration information, Citi will review it and notify the registrant. Send the invitation receipt link, click the link within the specified time, and follow the process in the link to complete the registration. After activation, you can log in to the account according to the process.

2) Obtain the customer ID and key

Developers can obtain the customer ID and customer key after registering the application in the API key workspace and completing the application. The client ID is the application's public identifier, used to confirm the client's identity when requesting information; the client key is the application's private identifier, used to identify the client during the API's authentication step.

3) Authorization

Before testing the API, the client needs to be authenticated to the API. There are two types of verification: if the developer just wants to call Citi points or submit product applications, and does not require Citi to provide identification information or use financial history (such as exchanging reward points or submitting product applications), two-legged verification is required; if the developer If you want to obtain sensitive data of certain customers (such as checking balances or viewing personal information, etc.), you need to perform three-leg verification on the customers.

4) Sandbox testing

Developers select the API interface they want to call and start testing in the sandbox. First, format it according to the process shown in the API documentation in the Citibank Open Center. Then, use the developer's access token and the information required for the API. Finally, build the application using the API sandbox data.

5) Further exploration after putting into production

After the test, the developer can submit the developed product to Citibank. If the developer and Citibank think that cooperation can be achieved, after Citibank’s approval, After the investigation, both parties will conduct tests together. When both parties believe that there is greater room for cooperation, they can further cooperate and move into actual operations.

External developers can use the above five steps to call Citibank's API to obtain massive customer data. The operation of these five processes is clear and clear. With its own openness and convenience, the developer center attracted 1,500 developers in one month. For example, Intuit and Qantas Airways are co-developers of Citi's API products and work with Citi to develop services based on open APIs.

Intuit is a high-tech company that specializes in personal financial software. After Intuit calls Citibank’s account management API, its users can more smoothly and securely authorize Intuit to obtain their Citigroup accounts. Bank account data, including balances, transaction history, bill due dates, etc., can also be viewed anytime and anywhere using infographics.

Qantas is Australia's largest airline. After cooperating with Citibank, it can call more than 70 APIs through the Developer Center to obtain relevant financial data. Based on this data, Qantas launched its premium platinum credit card service as well as the Qantas Money app. Its users can more conveniently obtain Qantas membership program reward rights and monitor credit card balances and flight mileage points in real time.

3. Integration and collaboration

Citibank, as a big international bank, has always shown its uniqueness in financial technology. A positive embracing side. Regarding the construction of open banking, Citigroup, in addition to its own exploration, is also actively strengthening external cooperation.

1) Citi Ventures

In 2017, Citibank held the Citi HK Fintech Challenge 2017 and established the venture capital fund "Citi Ventures". Within 5 years, we have cooperated with 23 financial technology companies in eight fields including blockchain, data analysis, personal finance, wealth management, financial services software, payment and settlement, regulatory technology, and loans, including R3, DAH, Kensho, Betterment, Well-known financial technology companies such as Plaid and Chain. As a result, Citigroup was ranked first among the top 10 U.S. banks in financial technology investments by CB Insight.

2) Fintergate

Citigroup’s cooperation with financial technology companies created the new word “Fintergate”, which means Fintech and integrate, which means the integration of financial high-tech. Citi has now entered into partnerships with Mastercard, Wonder, BestBuy, Virgin Money, and PayPal.Tie.

In 2016, Citi cooperated with Wonder to open the Citi Points API. When users pay with Citi credit cards on the Wonder App, they can use points instead of cash. In 2017, Citigroup cooperated with the online payment company PayPal. Users of Citigroup and PayPal use PayPal to make payments on PCs, mobile phones and physical stores.

3) Citi Mobile Challenge

Citibank has already begun its external exploration. In 2014, Citi launched the "Citi Mobile Challenge" global hacker and accelerator program to gain wider access to External financial ideas. This project supports thousands of developers from more than 100 countries in Latin America, the United States, Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia-Pacific.

Israel, synonymous with start-up companies, has become a cooperation target of Citi. In November 2013, Citi launched the first financial accelerator program in the country. The unique feature of the four-month program is that Citi will not invest in the companies that accept the program, as the program is designed to provide autonomy to companies participating in the accelerator program, so that fintech startups in the program can leverage Citi Provide professional mentor resources and help it obtain approximately US$350 million in start-up capital. In order to further expand innovation resources extensively, Citi partnered with Plug and Play, the world's largest incubator, in 2015.

As a major international bank with high risk tolerance and great industry influence, Citigroup is a representative of major banks such as JP Morgan Chase and Capital One. It provides an excellent answer sheet on how banks should carry out open banking construction. The model of "focusing on self-construction and supplementing by cooperation" has provided us with many practical experiences.

Author | Zhang Ruiting Zhang Yingkai

Instructor | Sun Yunchuan