How is Blockchain Bringing Revolution in Banking Industry?

Dr Vin Menon
4 min readDec 12, 2022

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One of the most exciting developments in the financial sector, blockchain technology has the potential to improve the efficiency and security of financial transactions and trades, and even assist in the overall risk management of the world’s highly interdependent financial markets.

Blockchain can do this by incorporating trust into the transaction ecosystem through powerful encryption that is resistant to hacking. Blockchain in banks would be highly useful to us; let’s find out how exactly!

What is Blockchain?

Blockchain is a distributed digital ledger that records and verifies transactions between users. Considering that it is a distributed ledger, no one has the power to compromise the system’s integrity. The blocks of data are connected chronologically as records of transactions. These immutable connections are the network’s greatest strength.

This ground-breaking innovation handles and encrypts information exchanges in real-time. Blockchain was designed to improve upon previous transaction systems by reducing fees and increasing throughput. Because of the versatility of the technology and its potential for integration across sectors, investors stand to benefit from several possibilities.

What is blockchain in banking?

Banks and other financial institutions are beginning to use blockchain technology. It has the potential to improve banking industry security as a whole significantly. The widespread use of blockchain technology has the potential to revolutionise the safety and efficiency of financial operations throughout the globe, from remittances and stock trading to cross-border payments.

By eliminating the need for a trusted third party, blockchain in banks enables previously distrustful parties to agree on the contents of a database. A blockchain might eliminate the need for certain banking services, such as payments or securitisation, by serving as a decentralised ledger for these transactions.

In addition, “smart contracts,” which are blockchain-based contracts that self-execute, may be used to automate previously manual operations, such as ensuring compliance, processing claims, and distributing assets in a will.

Working of blockchain in banks

Over time, it has become clear that blockchain banking is the most reliable, quick, and safe banking method. It’s the safest and fastest way to handle financial transactions. Blockchain banking is reliable and trustworthy for the customer and the financial institution.

Use of blockchain in banks means operations happen through digital money. Rather than using a third party to mediate the agreement in a transaction, the counterparties to trade may instead rely on a smart contract to confirm the transaction and exchange digital money.

Further, with blockchain in banks, there are no constraints on the size or frequency of transactions that may be processed via a blockchain. The quantity of money sent from the buyer to the seller is unrestricted. As with other applications, the consumer doesn’t have to wait days or weeks for the funds to be transferred.

Use of Blockchain in Banking

Blockchain technology has many potential uses in the financial sector. Still, thus far, the most significant benefits seen in this sector have been security, cost savings, and reduced human error. The use of blockchain technology in banking are as follows:

1. Security

One of the most promising uses of blockchain technology in banking is the enhancement of safety measures already in place. Because the system leaves an unalterable audit trail, it may be used to combat fraud. Due to the decentralised nature of the blockchain network, there is no single point of failure or vulnerability that hackers might exploit. As cybercrime and ransomware assaults in particular continue to cost businesses worldwide tens of billions of dollars annually, this is more critical than ever.

2. Cost

Blockchain technology also has the potential to drastically cut the price of financial services, making them more affordable for the general public. Blockchain has the potential to boost efficiency and cut costs for banks, enabling them to pass those savings through to their customers by automating processes like processing payments and giving loans, among others.

3. Minimising Errors

Automating processes saves money and helps the banking sector avoid the mayhem caused by human mistakes. Banks may lower the risk of human mistakes, boost productivity, and lessen the effects of cyberattacks by using automated systems to record transactions in a manner that makes them impossible to change with the help of blockchain.

4. Making things clearer and more transparent

Since all transactions on a blockchain are recorded in a shared database, it may increase openness in the banking sector. Inefficiencies, such as fraud, may be uncovered and addressed, hence lowering the risk faced by financial institutions.

Conclusion

As the global financial system becomes more interconnected because of technological developments like blockchain, financial institutions are rushing to develop their blockchain-based strategies to stay ahead of the curve.

The banking sector is one of many to reap the benefits of blockchain technology. Significant sectors, including healthcare, government, manufacturing, and logistics, have embraced technology. You might now be questioning, will blockchain replace banks? Well, it remains to be seen if blockchain in banks might completely remove the need for centralised financial institutions.

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Dr Vin Menon

A blockchain enthusiast and entrepreneur’s musings on the next big revolution since the Internet.