Saudi Arabian bank, Saudi Awwal Bank (SAB), a Riyadh-based Saudi joint stock company in which global banking group HSBC owns a minority stake, announced the world’s first Islamic Repo on blockchain in partnership with Oumla, a secure, scalable blockchain infrastructure provider for businesses, enterprises, and governments.

The blockchain-enabled Islamic Repo allowed SAB to lend to other banks in compliance with Islamic finance principles using blockchain to make the process faster, safer and more transparent. The implementation comes months after SAB’s virtual assets Summit.

According to Oumla’s website, “It replaces paperwork and manual steps with smart digital contracts, ensures all transactions are securely and immutably recorded, and helps banks manage their assets and liquidity more easily and with reduced risk.”