Blockchain can provide the solution to some of the difficulties faced by financial services industries. It offers transparency, security and automation as key benefits.
Blockchain’s immutability ensures that data remains accurate and safe from cyber-threats such as hackers. This reduces risks associated with data breaches while saving costs.
Transparency
Blockchain is one of the core technologies behind cryptocurrency, but it also has applications in financial services. Blockchain’s transparency enhances consumer protection while simultaneously lowering fraud costs for consumers. Companies and regulators can use it to trace data lineage easily allowing them to easily see which data has changed and why. This could prevent fraudulent or other security breaches related to discrepancies caused by multiple systems being used to store customer records at once – increasing chances of unintentional or intentional discrepancies occurring due to this practice.
Blockchain platforms can increase productivity by speeding up data processing times. For instance, using a blockchain-powered trade finance platform could allow transactions to be completed within hours rather than days using traditional systems, significantly cutting both cost and error handling; as well as allowing companies to process trades immediately without clearing houses being necessary.
Security
Information in today’s centralized financial system flows through multiple intermediaries – both front and back offices. This creates a gap in transparency and security that increases risk of data breaches or server hacks, thus justifying why blockchain has the potential to transform financial services by making them more transparent and secure.
Cryptocurrency payments are an ideal example of how blockchains can reduce fraud and security risks. Blockchain networks offer high levels of privacy and security by using zero-knowledge proof technology to verify transactions without disclosing transaction details, making them an excellent solution for international fund transfers.
Blockchain can also be utilized to reinvent finance processes such as intercompany transactions, procure-to-pay transactions, order-to-cash orders and rebates, warranties and financing (such as letters of credit trade finance and invoice factoring). Blockchain has the ability to transform financial industries by helping reduce operational costs while improving customer experiences while speeding settlements processes up.
Decentralization
As decentralized systems, blockchains avoid placing control in the hands of one central authority, making them impossible for anyone to manipulate – an immutability feature which is one of the key reasons people adopted cryptocurrency such as Bitcoin in the first place.
Blockchain technology enables peer-to-peer transactions without financial intermediaries, significantly lowering costs and fraud by securely recording and verifying each transaction. It also increases transparency while protecting against data breaches.
It would be an immense benefit for an industry that transacts trillions and billions annually, yet the current global financial system relies heavily on intermediaries, including bank front offices and back offices as well as third parties such as currency exchangers; all this creates a complex multi-layered network which is vulnerable to hacks or security risks and delays that may take up to seven days for payments to settle; which is both expensive and frustrating for consumers.
Automation
Automation in financial services has quickly become popular due to its cost and time savings. From automating payments, managing customer relationships or assessing new risks when opening accounts – intelligent automation technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), robotic process automation (RPA), machine learning can offer operational efficiencies while providing deep business insight.
Blockchain’s immutable ledger of data and transaction histories make it ideal for tracking orders, payments, production and production processes – eliminating the need for clearing houses in financial markets.
Blockchain’s trust-building value extends far beyond finance, into multiple industries as well. Marketing makes use of it by creating digital assets which can be traded or resold, decreasing fraud and increasing trust in digital advertising. Blockchain also makes large files accessible globally at the click of a button without costly cloud storage; thanks to each data block containing a record of the previous transactions as well as its hash number that refers back to it.
