From the early history, banking industry has been acting as an intermediary to conduct financial transactions. They have been providing the trust required for flow of funds. Technology has always had an impact on banking system. With the advancement in information and tech- nology, banks have consistently adapted their working style. Today, banks are connected with the technological networks such as SWIFT for information flow. So, banking industry is fully dependent on technologies to perform their day to day operations. Thus, blockchain could be the significant catalyst to help banking industry.
Banks are often criticized as inefficient, expensive, and non-transparent. Fintech and neo- banks such as PayPal, Revolut, N26, are disrupting traditional banks with their innovative so- lution. Blockchain proposes solution for these criticism as well as provides competitive ad- vantage over the Fintech industry. Overtime, the interest in blockchain has grown intensely, and lately central banks and governments have also started exploring its use cases. With many banks around the world exploring the potential of blockchain, the future certainly looks prom- ising.
This exploratory thesis aims to study the possible impacts of blockchain in banking industry along with its limitations and challenges. This thesis provides a good explanation of blockchain technology, the mechanism of blockchain and the use of blockchain technology in banking industry. It introduces Bitcoin as the first application of blockchain technology along with its history and characteristics. Additionally, the research looks into the problem’s banks are facing nowadays and the roles blockchain might play to solve them. Last but not the least, the thesis shows how banks are researching and implementing blockchain in their work. More specifi- cally, this thesis proposes to answer the following questions:
- What are the possible impacts of blockchain technology in the banking industry?
- What are the challenges for the implementation of blockchain technology?