Many economic sectors, such as banking, are now integrating Blockchain into their traditional practices in order to gain in time, efficiency and competitiveness. Its impact on the very structure of banks is undeniable.
Blockchain, a source of opportunities for banks
Blockchain is an information storage and transmission technology designed to secure transactions. It enables a detailed history of interactions between users of the same service to be kept, without it being possible to alter or falsify it. Blockchain's first application remains crypto-currencies, and in particular Bitcoin, which has demonstrated the possibility of reducing the number of intermediaries involved in transactions without compromising data protection.
In the French banking sector, this technology has undoubted potential. For example, it appears to be an effective means of improving the security and traceability of transactions, combating fraud, reducing costs and transaction times, while continuing the process of digitizing operations that has been underway for several years. Alongside these well-identified opportunities, there are also remaining obstacles, pointing to a slower spread of Blockchain within the banking system. These limits include: the need to find a consensus that suits all the players in the ecosystem, synchronization with regulations, the technology's ability to be approved, and the profitability of Blockchain infrastructures. These limitations will have to be overcome in order to exploit its full potential.
The impact of blockchain on banking professions
Blockchain is shaking up the codes of the banking sector and involves theacquisition of new skills. IT professions (node administration and management, transaction execution, storage...), legal professions (changing regulations, use of new Blockchain-based tools and platforms), compliance and risk professions are particularly impacted.
Beyond traditional support functions, non-banking activities are also evolving. In the field of marketing, for example, the French Adschain consortium aims to combat advertising fraud by making available a common register in which each actor in the chain fills in the list of its partners. Blockchain can also be applied to the field of accounting, guaranteeing the authenticity of accounting entries thanks to the acceptance of two parties.
Thus, banking professions will have to adapt to a new ecosystem including Blockchain. It is in the banks' best interests to provide comprehensive support for their employees, to ensure that their skills are upgraded. They will also need to provide specific support for individual business lines, depending on the impact on their activities and skills. Management has a key role to play in setting up these support systems.