Blockchain in the financial industry: hype or a real opportunity?

The banking industry has traditionally been conservative in nature and extremely cautious with any kind of experimentation; this is especially true regarding blockchain. However, banks are starting to recognize that this new technology cannot be ignored and that the opportunities for blockchain’s use in the financial industry are enormous.

Despite the great potential for blockchain in the financial industry, the technology is still in its infancy and lacks a standard platform. The integration of blockchain technology with the existing IT infrastructure represents a further challenge. Moreover, there are questions to be clarified regarding compliance, fraud detection and prevention (including a legal framework for cryptocurrencies). Finally, there is a need for clear data privacy regulations and an answer to the question of how to concurrently ensure transparency across transactions.

In short, there is a lot of hype surrounding the use of blockchain technology in the financial sector as well as some ambiguities concerning the best way to use it. Without a doubt, blockchain will change the way the financial sector operates; however, there are still a number of issues that need to be addressed before the technology can be used with tangible benefits.

Source: www.mobilepaymentstoday.com