Blockchain seen supporting financial technology sector

More financial institutions are expected to leverage blockchain technology to improve service offerings for the clients who have become more digital-savvy amid the shift to online platforms, according to one digital ledger platform.

Tetrix Network CEO and co-founder Emman Navalan, in an interview with the Inquirer, said that the local financial services industry had been keeping up with the trends that could make customer experience more seamless.

“Many major financial institutions abroad have adopted international payments with blockchain technology, which saves time and money,” he said.

“Consumers can also use blockchain money transfers to complete electronic transfers with mobile devices, avoiding the cumbersome process of visiting a money transfer facility, standing in line, and paying fees for a transaction,” he added, which is seen boosting the financial technology (fintech) sector.

Navalan likened the blockchain to “distributed copies of physical accounting ledgers or notebooks that contain records of data or transactions that cannot be erased, tracking all changes across all copies at the same time.” He explained this technology highlights trust among users as any suspicious changes made on the ledger will be flagged, corrected and validated accordingly.

Apart from money transfers, Navalan cited cryptocurrency offering as another financial service that could be enabled by blockchain technology.

“The crypto ecosystem has expanded significantly over the past few years, and there is now a higher demand for constructing high-throughput applications on low-cost blockchains, such as gaming, NFT (nonfungible tokens) marketplaces and media apps,” he said.

Gaining traction

Digital assets that are being traded like equities—including cryptocurrency and NFTs—have been gaining traction in the country following the rise of the popular play-to-earn blockchain-based game Axie Infinity.

In fact, Navalan observed fintech players starting to offer cryptocurrency trading in their platform. Another financial institution also earlier announced its plan to develop a platform aimed at turning art pieces into NFT tiles that can be traded as well.

Navalan said that the country had been ramping up its efforts in providing more digital financial services but more needs to be done.

“Blockchain technology can support and close out the gap when used in parallel to existing efforts, but we must start educating ourselves and the consumers, as many people are fearful of any technology they don’t fully understand,” he added. INQ