National Australia Bank and Commonwealth Bank of Australia are joining a group of 20 global banks in a trial of “distributed ledger” technologies, which use the same “blockchain” approach that underpins bitcoin transactions.

Blockchain and other decentralised ledgers use advanced computer encryption to track transactions, bypassing traditional banks or clearing houses.

Global financial innovation company R3 has launched a project to design protocols for a system banks could use to transfer funds or information to each other at lower cost and outside the view of central banks.

NAB chief executive Andrew Thorburn has told Fairfax that he hopes the project will help “work through the legal implications, the technology architecture and the different use cases around the world today that we can test”.

Blockchain technologies are “an opportunity for banks to learn together about something that could have a very significant impact on our business in future years. It could be a virtual banking system,” Mr Thorburn says.

Other banks are looking for ways to employ blockchains as well, with Westpac chief executive Brian Hartzer recently commenting that the rise of the blockchain “will certainly have a very interesting and potentially disruptive impact on financial services”.

Westpac and CBA are involved with a trial by Ripple Labs to use blockchain-like technology for inter-bank communications and transfers.

Blockchain was the big buzzword at the SIBOS 2015 payments conference in Singapore this week, attended by 8000 industry delegates.

Despite their enthusiasm for the technology, banks remain unsupportive of the bitcoin start-ups that pioneered it.

But they could be burned for their reticence, with the ACCC considering an inquiry into the actions of the banks that have shut down accounts of local bitcoin operators.

Mr Thorburn told the Australia Israel Chamber of Commerce this week that NAB would put more funding into NAB Ventures, a $50 million innovation fund that invests in potentially disruptive businesses.

He said the fund was not solely about profit.

“We are doing it to learn. It is equity capital at risk so we can learn faster to protect the core, grow our business and serve our clients better,” Mr Thorburn said.

Head of financials research at JCP Investment Partners, Matt Wilson, says the blockcahin approach “looks set to be the next big thing, a truly disruptive technology platform”.

“This technology has the ability to remove the friction and minimise the capital intensity of cash management and liquidity,” he said.

“Delivery of a successful distributed ledger could change the global payments system and potentially replace [international payment and settlement systems] SWIFT and CLS, to become the most secure and instant method of funds transfer.”