Case Study: Soramitsu (blockchain developer) achieves financial inclusion and instant retail CBDC payments with Hyperledger Iroha

The National Bank of Cambodia boosts financial inclusion with Hyperledger Iroha

Soramitsu partnered with the National Bank of Cambodia to tackle a legacy payments system that left roughly 78% of citizens unbanked, relied heavily on U.S. dollars, and suffered slow, costly interbank settlement. To promote financial inclusion, de-dollarize retail payments, and enable smartphone-based e‑wallets, Soramitsu selected the Hyperledger Iroha blockchain framework (from Hyperledger) as the foundation for a secure, permissioned CBDC-style payments platform.

Using Hyperledger Iroha, Soramitsu helped build the Bakong platform: an account-based, BFT permissioned ledger with ISO 20022 APIs, white‑label mobile apps, and strong security auditing. Supported by Hyperledger Iroha, the pilot connected 16 financial institutions and 10,000+ users, delivered up to 2,000 transactions/sec, cut interbank settlements from twice-daily batches to under five seconds, and set the stage for nationwide rollout—improving speed, reducing costs, and increasing access to digital payments.

Soramitsu

Makoto Takemiya

CEO and co-founder