Barclays, IBM test quantum computing for settlement

New research suggests quantum machines will dramatically improve settlement efficiency

Quantum computing is another step closer to being put to practical use in financial markets, after Barclays and IBM conducted a successful test that demonstrates the technology’s ability to dramatically speed up securities settlement cycles.

Banks and financial firms are exploring quantum computing’s potential to solve so-called combinatorial optimisation problems, which involve manipulating large datasets whose constituents can be combined in a near-limitless number of ways to arrive at the