Four years of data from Visma | Onguard’s Fintech Barometer finds growing confidence in blockchain technology
London, 25 November 2021 – 65% of organisations have either adopted blockchain technology or worked out the first ideas for future adoption in 2021, up from 51% in 2018. Of this 65%, almost a third are already utilising the technology – a significant 12% increase on last year’s levels.
These are the latest findings by Visma | Onguard, a leader in cutting-edge software solutions for the order-to-cash chain. Fresh analysis of four years of data from its annual Fintech Barometer has indicated the growing market trend towards blockchain adoption.
There are a variety of opportunities blockchain presents to the financial sector likely causing this uptake. From the findings, 28% of respondents flagged enhanced data security as a key benefit. Moreover, 25% highlighted how both international and corporate payments could be made with greater ease.
The study found that while some hurdles remain on the journey to blockchain adoption, fewer respondents are identifying the biggest hurdle – security – as a challenge (from 40% in 2018 to 35% in 2021). This points to a rising confidence in blockchain’s decentralised security features and its built-in protections against cybercrime.
Finance professionals are also growing increasingly aware of where the biggest hurdles lie in relation to blockchain technology. The drop in respondents claiming to be ‘unsure’ of the challenges is another indicator of blockchain’s rising credibility in fintech circles.
Future of blockchain
Blockchain is forecast to be more than a flash in the pan. In fact, growing numbers of financial organisations are now integrating it into much longer-term plans. With blockchain and robotic process automation (RPA) capable of working together, results from 2021 show that 40% of businesses are developing ideas on how to incorporate robotisation into their adoption of blockchain. This is a large jump from last year’s 25% and another indicator that blockchain technology is here to stay.
“The story of blockchain adoption has truly moved into its next chapter”, said Tim Blok, CTO of Visma | Onguard. “Only three years ago, many financial organisations discredited blockchain as a passing fad, but that’s certainly not the case now. Our 2021 study shows an improved awareness and understanding of how the technology works, which is driving its increased adoption. Blockchain looks set to become a key solution in the toolkit of financial organisations moving forward.
This press release was also published by Finance Derivative, Financial IT and Credit-Connect.
