It is well known that blockchain technology has the following characteristics, decentralization, fairness and transparency, anti-counterfeiting, anti-tampering, quasi-anonymity, transaction traceability, etc.
Although the security issues of the blockchain itself have been criticized by people, such as frequent loopholes, digital currency crimes, etc. But it is undeniable that it does bring new opportunities for the development of certain industries, such as the financial industry. Whether in terms of cost, efficiency or security, blockchain technology has made innovations.
Based on the characteristics of blockchain technology, it will undoubtedly be widely used in the financial industry. In the fields of payment, settlement, and clearing, blockchain can even become a “killer” application.
1. Multi-party participation in calculation and liquidation scenario
The global financial transactions of various types amount to US$18 trillion every year. Bank settlement is a very fragmented process. Each bank has its own set of ledgers, making reconciliation difficult. Some transactions sometimes take several days to be verified and confirmed.
In addition, since both parties to the transaction do not trust each other, financial institutions need to complete asset settlement and ledger confirmation through a centrally located clearing structure. Its liquidity risk is also very high, regulatory reporting is very cumbersome, it is also prone to human error, and settlement costs are high. This type of application scenario involves multiple transaction entities and does not trust each other, which is very suitable for using blockchain technology.
Therefore, we can establish an inter-bank alliance chain through blockchain technology to realize the transfer and transaction of assets.
With the alliance chain, banks can share a ledger, eliminating the tedious work of reconciliation. Transactions can be verified and confirmed in near real-time, and settled automatically. At the same time, regulators can use the security of cryptography to ensure that audits cannot be tampered with. Logging.
2. Cross-regional and cross-network payment scenarios involving multiple parties
Another financial service that blockchain can disrupt is cross-border payments.
Cross-border payments usually take several days or even a week to arrive. In addition, cross-border payments require users on both sides to provide a large amount of account opening information and certificates to local banks to comply with the bank’s compliance requirements. Banks and intermediary financial institutions involved in the transaction also need to report regularly to achieve anti-money laundering and other compliance requirements.
Blockchain technology, on the one hand, can reduce users’ repeated submission of certification materials and improve efficiency. On the other hand, it can better achieve compliance and real-time performance, greatly improve the operational efficiency of financial institutions, and improve regulatory efficiency. The nature of blockchain point-to-point transactions can eliminate high intermediate fees; in addition, it can also be combined with technologies such as smart contracts to stipulate the conditions for payment in the contract, ensuring the implementation of obligations while paying, and improving the security of transactions.
3. Property insurance
In terms of insurance, blockchain can be used in business scenarios such as mutual insurance, loss assessment, and claims settlement.
Current insurance requires a large amount of information, manual operations, etc. when settling claims, which requires a lot of manpower and material resources to complete. With blockchain technology, it can well alleviate the pain points of claim users and reduce claims costs.
First of all, blockchain can reduce the burden on customers to provide claim information and proof. If assets can be intelligently embedded in smart contracts, the assets can have the ability to automatically start the claims process, and even realize automated claims, which will greatly accelerate the claims process and improve Customer experience, and even reasonable data sharing among alliance members, to effectively detect and eliminate insurance fraud.
In addition, the application of blockchain technology can significantly reduce insurance companies’ demand for intermediary agent service personnel and reduce operating costs.
