HSBC, along with other international banks, has announced plans to use blockchain to speed up mortgage applications by keeping a register of property valuations.
The financial world is now starting to adopt blockchain technology for both banking safety and efficiency. In Hong Kong, Bank of China and IBOS member bank HSBC have announced plans to use blockchain to speed up mortgage applications by keeping a register of property valuations. This, they think, will allow them to process loans more cheaply.
Some think that blockchain could also revolutionise banks’ core payment and trading systems. Its magic ingredient is that it allows users to bypass the need for middlemen and simplifies clearing and settlement by creating an instantaneous and tamper-resistant public record of transactions. The Oliver Wyman consultancy has estimated that if blockchain was used to streamline unwieldy systems, such as those in cross-border payments and securities trading, it could shave $15-20bn annually from global banks’ costs.
With bankers under pressure to cut costs, such efficiencies are attractive. Indeed, 50 of the world’s largest banks have started to look at blockchain and hope to launch their first applications within the next 12 months.
Read more about blockchain and bank safety, via Financial Times, here.
