Carbonplace, the bank-backed DLT-based carbon credit settlement platform, has successfully carried out a pilot transfer with payments giant Visa.
Visa purchased Verra-certified credits from Sustainable Carbon, a carbon credit project developer in a key step ahead of a planned launch later in the year for what is being dubbed the "Swift for the carbon markets".
The transfer was facilitated by two of Carbonplace’s founding banks, NAB on behalf of Visa and Itaú Unibanco on behalf of Sustainable Carbon.
The partners say the pilot demonstrates the capability of Carbonplace’s settlement technology to significantly increase the speed, efficiency, and security required to support the growing demand for voluntary carbon credits.
The participating banks - which include BNP Paribas, CIBC, NatWest, Standard Chartered, and UBS - argue that they can collaboratively leverage their existing infrastructure, including KYC and AML procedures, to address some of the challenges that have held back the development of the voluntary carbon market.
For Visa, the pilot is part of its pledge to reach net zero emissions by 2040, 10 years ahead of the Paris Climate Agreement goal.
David Gall, NAB group executive, corporate and institutional banking, says: "Carbonplace is creating new opportunities to help our customers as they take action to reduce their emissions and achieve their own targets.
"This successful pilot transaction with Visa is a significant step towards being able to help more of our customers tackle existing barriers and make carbon credits more accessible to everyone."