7 Ways Banks Benefit From Blockchain Tech

 

The use of blockchain technology in banking is undoubtedly having an impact on the realm of conventional financial services. It’s helping to hasten the digital transition while also enhancing it for everyone involved. Banks’ opposition to cryptocurrencies aside, it’s essential to see the network and digital money as two distinct entities. Given the numerous potential benefits, using an enterprise blockchain in banking is a no-brainer.

Blockchain potential goes much beyond buying and selling cryptocurrencies. Today, we’ll discuss some of the benefits of blockchain technology for financial institutions. So, let’s put your fingers on it.

Why Do Banks Need Blockchain?

The digital transactions carried out by blockchain users are recorded in encrypted blocks and stored in the distributed ledger that is the blockchain. When used as a business network, blockchain technology allows all members to record and audit all company transactions. No one can alter or delete the confirmed transactions in the ledger. In this approach, blockchain aids its users in improving the safety, dependability, transparency, and efficiency of financial transactions. By making information unchangeable and simple to verify, this technology strengthens data security. A new degree of data security may be achieved, making it possible to eradicate fraud and human error across many different sectors.

Benefits Of Incorporating Blockchain Tech In Banking

Implementing blockchain technology in financial services might rescue the day since fraudsters target banks more than any other business. The primary benefits of blockchain technology for financial institutions are as follows:

1. Security

Financial institutions may address many vulnerabilities using blockchain technology. The technology’s applications range from data security to stronger user authentication. How blockchain might improve online banking safety. Blockchain also does away with the need for password protection on user accounts, financial gadgets, and other infrastructure. Instead, it combines the security of blockchain with biometrics, such as iris scans, fingerprints, voice, etc., to create an encrypted block that serves as the user’s unique identification.

To gain entry to applications and devices, or to digitally sign data before sending it elsewhere, the method makes use of an encrypted block containing user IDs. Blockchain’s distributed structure makes it difficult for hackers to compromise it; they need access to the whole network, not just one node. There is no central server or vulnerable point since the data is distributed across several computers.

Some financial firms utilise blockchain because it provides a secure way to store data and conduct transactions. Data leakage and cyber espionage may be avoided when blockchain is utilised to secure internal communications. The technique prevents hackers from collecting information used for conversations by dispersing it throughout the distributed ledger.

1. Speed

Many banking procedures and financial transactions nowadays are labour-intensive, requiring lengthy periods for administration, authorisation, and tracking. By facilitating immediate identification and verification, blockchain technology in the financial sector serves to simplify banking procedures using trading bots like bitcoin buyer, such as the processing of fast cross-border payments, financial trading, Know Your Customer (KYC) verification, etc. and reduces the need for paperwork. And with a standardised blockchain-based infrastructure across financial institutions, banks may provide their financial services without interruption. As a result, they’ll save time and provide better service to their digital banking consumers.

1. Transparency

With the increased openness that blockchain technology brings to financial transactions, fraud may be easily identified and avoided. Bank transactions are more transparent to blockchain users since they are recorded in a shared digital ledger. This allows financial institutions to quickly and easily verify and trace the provenance of all transactions. In this sense, fraudulent activities like laundering illicit funds or making false purchases are rendered impossible by blockchain banking.

1. Enhanced Know-Your-Client (KYC) Procedures

When a bank takes on a new client, they go through a process called KYC (Know Your Customer) to make sure they are who they say they are. Due to the need of obtaining evaluations and permissions from third-party organisations and other financial institutions, the process today may take more than a month. Up to $ 160 million is spent annually by financial institutions to ensure Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations are met.

The use of blockchain technology in the financial sector is a powerful tool for reducing the time and effort spent verifying information, doing away with unnecessary steps, and limiting the number of contacts required with various institutions. Verified information is saved safely in the system and may be shared with other financial institutions with little effort.

1. Direct Payments

At the same time, blockchain financial services provide direct payments between individuals or businesses without the need for centralised processing or institutions. Blockchain also provides traceability and transparency, which leads to DeFi, as transactions become quicker and cheaper. (Decentralized Finance). By eliminating the need for traditional financial intermediaries like banks and credit unions, DeFi aims to make peer-to-peer lending and payments accessible to people all over the world. As a result, blockchain presents certain challenges for financial institutions and may need adjustments to current practices.

1. Fundraising

Venture capital fundraising, in its traditional form, may be a difficult and time-consuming procedure. Finding external investors and developing new products are both important tasks for every company. By eliminating middlemen and streamlining the fundraising process, initial coin offerings (ICOs) on the blockchain are reshaping the industry.

Businesses issue their own digital coins (ICOs) and sell them to customers via well-known cryptocurrency exchanges. They may fast amass the required capital before ever releasing their goods to the public in this fashion.

1. Decentralization

The financial sector greatly benefits from blockchain’s other notable characteristic, its decentralised nature. When power is dispersed, consumers and businesses have a more equal partnership in the market. Direct interactions between buyers and sellers eliminate the need for a centralised authority to oversee all trades. As a consequence, transaction costs go down, confidence grows among parties, and no one entity can exert dominance over the market.

1. Lending And Borrowing

Common financial institutions lend money depending on your credit score, which is generated by outside companies. Such an attitude may be hostile to customers, which might affect their chances of getting loans. By using Blockchain technology, financial institutions may get a distributed and cryptographically secure ledger of a user’s most recent payments. This information might be used to determine a universal credit rating, allowing them to provide credit to more people at lower interest rates.

1. Lower Expenditures

Blockchain may help financial institutions save money in many ways. By 2022, banks may save up to $20 billion on infrastructure expenditures thanks to blockchain technology.

By incorporating features like smart connections into a platform, financial institutions may lessen their reliance on intermediaries and other counterparties. They may also lessen the expense of contract maintenance and implementation.

Banks may also lower the fees associated with dealing with other banks.

1. Faster Transactions

Faster transactions are another perk of using blockchain in the financial industry. It just takes a few seconds to complete a transaction, making it far quicker than more conventional techniques. Simple entries in a ledger may be used to move money around without relying on a third party to verify the transaction. In order to speed up the process of validating and resolving transactions, financial institutions may use a Blockchain-based solution. Thanks to developments in technology, deals may now be made in near-real time. This allows banks to streamline their operations and provide their clients access to borderless, instant, and low-cost financial transactions.

Now that banks can cut out the intermediaries, they should be able to speed up the transaction process for their consumers. More transactions between clients and banks will be processed as a consequence of this.

1. Quality of Data Enhancement

Data of any kind may be stored on a modern blockchain, with access granted according to a set of rules and laws. Smart contracts are a kind of automated contract verification and enforcement. Transferring financial data to distributed ledgers may make use of blockchain technology.

What Changes Can We Anticipate in the Future of Financial Services?

The impacts of blockchain in the financial industry are more than obvious, even though it is still unclear if central bank digital currencies will acquire popularity or whether crypto will become an equal alternative to fiat money. As technology advances, we should expect to see more of them. That’s why it makes sense for banks to be among the first to benefit from the widespread use of blockchain technology by making the transition from existing systems and practices as soon as feasible. There is a lot of work for banks to undertake to catch up to other industries as our society moves towards the digitalization of all activities. The use of blockchain technology in banking has the potential to not only contribute to that goal but also to aid in the evolution of the services to something more tailored to the evolving demands of customers and businesses.