Blockchain could cost banks up to $150 billion

There has been a lot of attention paid to the use of blockchain technology in the financial sector recently. Although more and more banks are beginning to be interested in distributed ledgers, the overall attitude is still on the sidelines. Some experts believe that not taking advantage of blockchain will cost banks dearly in the future. It should be said that the financial sector seems to fight with decision-makers when discussing blockchain technology. Depending on which sector you ask this question to, blockchain technology may or may not have advantages that need to be considered. It will take time to develop distributed ledger solutions, and initial projects will require some fine-tuning. Now is the time to use blockchain. In addition, there seems to be a herd mentality in the banking industry regarding blockchain. Joining a group (such as R3) is unlikely to produce the best results in the long run. At the same time, it is important to establish sector partnerships at an early stage. All R3 members will use similar technologies that are interoperable across all institutions. This approach may be helpful in terms of cross-border payments. On the other hand, it will be difficult to see the right way forward through this approach of banks. Since blockchain will have the greatest impact on the international payments and trade finance sectors, the right actions are needed, but the right direction has not been found yet. The innovative aspect of blockchain technology cannot be ignored. For competitors that fail to keep up with customer expectations and demands, the financial losses will be evident. More specifically, banks could lose up to $150 billion in revenue if they don’t invest in blockchain. Experimenting with distributed ledger technology before launching it for mass use is the right move. However, a forward-looking approach also requires assurances, rather than fears of scalability issues. Financial institutions need to step up in this area if they want to stay ahead of the curve. In this era of innovation and the need to meet different customer needs, doing nothing is not an option.