{"id":541,"date":"2017-11-07T14:32:38","date_gmt":"2017-11-07T11:32:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/kusuaks7\/?p=146"},"modified":"2025-04-02T15:14:47","modified_gmt":"2025-04-02T15:14:47","slug":"building-smarter-services-on-the-blockchain","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/fintech\/building-smarter-services-on-the-blockchain\/","title":{"rendered":"Building smarter services on the blockchain"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tReady to learn Blockchain? Browse courses<\/a>\u00a0like\u00a0Blockchain for Finance Professionals<\/a> developed by industry thought leaders and Experfy in Harvard Innovation Lab.<\/em><\/strong>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe UK government is getting serious about blockchain, and the future of fintech could be the key to delivering better public services.<\/em>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tUK services are drowning in bureaucracy. We live in an age where products can be purchased at the swipe a finger and delivered within the hour, but try to secure a lease and you\u2019ll be required to visit a solicitor in person, grab hold of a bible and physically scribble on the dotted line. Not even our parliament can form a government without first\u00a0jotting the fundamentals down on goatskin parchment<\/a>. As political scientist and digital democracy campaigner Pia Mancini says:\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\u201cWe are 21st-century citizens doing our very best to interact with 19th century-designed institutions that are based on an information technology of the 15th century.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAll of our clients at Nile would prefer their services to be faster, simpler and more seamless. Asking a user to fill in a form or sign a document may seem trivial on its own, but can often add unnecessary complexity to interactions. Paperwork has to be printed and provided to customers, then checked, digitised and stored by organisations too. It\u2019s easy for this to get in the way of designing brilliant services, not to mention overcomplicating the systems behind the scenes.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\nHere in Scotland, the University of Edinburgh\u2019s School of Informatics has just\u00a0established the Blockchain Technology Lab<\/a>. Bringing together legal experts, computers scientists and designers, the research hub aims to use the technology to imagine and build innovative new services. The director of the lab, Professor Aggelos Kiayias, believes that smart contracts can play a role in helping us shed our paper addiction and improve user experience widely. He says:\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\u201cThere\u2019s nothing inherently wrong with paper contracts. They\u2019ve worked well for hundreds of years, but now trade is global and it\u2019s necessary to use technology to make contracts work for the internet age. The infrastructure for this technology is still being built, but the underlying principles have been proven, so we\u2019re now in the exciting stage of discovering the best ways to implement it.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLike their conventional counterparts, smart contracts define an agreement between parties that is binding. Payments from one party to another can be scheduled to process on a particular date, or triggered by a set of predetermined conditions. But while paper contracts are bound by law and subject to interpretation by legal professionals, smart contracts are secured by the blockchain.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThese digital contracts enable a seamless payments network to be built directly into the Internet of Things infrastructure that\u2019s emerging. Smart meters, for example, will automatically withdraw funds on a per-use basis rather than calculating monthly bills. Leasing a car on holiday could soon be as simple as scanning a QR code with your mobile phone.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPaper doesn\u2019t have a lot of friends left these days, but it\u2019s fair to say that the finance sector is waging an all-out war on physical documentation. From chatbots to biometrics, fintech has exploded and nearly every innovation it brings is designed to replace legacy systems \u2013 and the paperwork that comes with them \u2013\u00a0with integrated applications that automate and improve existing services.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHere in the UK, the Bank of England has established a fintech accelerator programme to learn from fintech startups. Similarly, the Financial Conduct Authority has created a special regulatory sandbox where it can futureproof compliance with the latest technology. The future of these technologies is being shaped not just by disruptive startups and innovation consultants, but by banks and regulators too.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tIn a trial earlier this year, the government made welfare payments using blockchain for the first time. Using the same ledger technology that powers bitcoin transactions, the Department for Work and Pensions drastically reduced the administrative burden attached to benefits\u00a0with the help of fintech startup Govcoin. Using technology to improve financial inclusion is crucial for society, the economy and business. As Robert Kay, the mathematician, former financier, and entrepreneur who is now chief executive of Govcoin, puts it:\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\u201cPeople who are on the fringes of financial inclusion, or who are financially excluded, need a special service which can give them instant access to their benefits \u2013 three days going through the banking system may mean using a payday lender, or being thrown out of your house.\u201d<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tThe Financial Conduct Authority is due to announce its third-round cohorts in November. As these firms work with regulators and the government to push the boundaries of this technology, the focus needs to be on improving lives, not just overcoming inefficiencies.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tBy harnessing new digital tools like smart contracts, we have an opportunity to redefine how government services engage and interact with the public. Fintech has provided innovators and pioneers with a new box of toys to play with, the challenge now is applying them to the services that we all rely on.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\nOriginally posted at LinkedIn<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Like their conventional counterparts, smart contracts define an agreement between parties that is binding. Payments from one party to another can be scheduled to process on a particular date, or triggered by a set of predetermined conditions. But while paper contracts are bound by law and subject to interpretation by legal professionals, smart contracts are secured by the blockchain.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":72,"featured_media":3024,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[192],"tags":[98],"ppma_author":[1632],"class_list":["post-541","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fintech","tag-blockchain"],"authors":[{"term_id":1632,"user_id":72,"is_guest":0,"slug":"sarah-ronald","display_name":"Sarah Ronald","avatar_url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/?s=96&d=mm&r=g","user_url":"","last_name":"Ronald","first_name":"Sarah","job_title":"","description":"Sarah Ronald is Founder & Director of Nile a consulting and design firm based in the UK. Combining technology, design and culture Nile creates a competitive advantage for clients as they undertake essential digital evolution. She has served as Chair of the UK Service Design Network and the Executive for the British Interactive Media Association (BIMA). She has been invited to advise both the UK and Scottish Government on Fintech and Digital strategy. She is an investor in a number of companies across America and Europe, with a particular interest in Fintech and HealthTech."}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/72"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=541"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":37573,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/541\/revisions\/37573"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=541"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=541"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=541"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.experfy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ppma_author?post=541"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}