FinTech Business, Australia: Cognizant’s Head, Banking and Financial Services – Market Enablement, APAC, Says Financial Services Must Not Delay on Blockchain

“For Australian banks and financial institutions, blockchain isn’t going anywhere and the stakes are far too high for the industry to collectively take a wait-and-see approach,” writes Hemant Tantia. “The introduction of blockchain will streamline operations and reduce costs, all while opening new revenue opportunities.” Excerpts:

“Recent research from Gartner found that Australian CIOs in the banking and financial services industry (BFSI) are putting blockchain on the backburner while they investigate the value of business insights and analytics — which Gartner suggests is due to a lack of understanding regarding its potential value.

In spite of this hesitation, blockchain has resoundingly been labelled as the key to business success in many sectors, and it is time Australian banks and financial organisations emerge from their ‘wait-and-see’ approach, and shift gears to draw the competitive advantage from this technology.

A recent Cognizant study analysing blockchain’s potential impact on the banking and financial services industry showed that 91 per cent of CIOs believe it will be either critical or important to their business’ future, while nearly half said it will fundamentally transform their industry.

Our study also found that respondents believe their organisations will gain a competitive advantage from adopting blockchain, and approximately three-quarters predicted that revenue will increase by more than five per cent.

While the benefits of blockchain in BFSI are clear, without strategy it will be difficult to ensure long-term success. When developing blockchain strategy, businesses must recognise that uncertainty is natural.”

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