For years, banks have used systems that most customers can’t see and rarely understand. Payments often pass through several intermediaries, with fees building up along the way — and settlement can also take days.
That structure may have worked in a lower-paced world, but it doesn’t work as well in a digital economy where information moves quickly.
However, blockchain offers an alternative model for reconciliation by providing shared records and the introduction of the technology doesn’t have to mean the demise of traditional banks; instead, the infrastructure beneath them can evolve and become more open, faster, and accessible to a generation that already expects financial services to work as the internet does.
Recent data on consumers shows that their expectations have changed. A study by Protocol Theory found that 22% of Gen Z Americans trust crypto more than banks to keep their money safe, while only 5% of Baby Boomers do.
The study also found that 37% of Gen Z adults currently own or use cryptocurrency, and almost half have used a crypto exchange at least once. These numbers show that people aren’t just curious, but that their attitudes about financial control and verification are changing from one generation to the next.
A System Built for a Different Era
Traditional payment systems are still very important to global finance, but they have some problems with their structure. Take SWIFT, the network that coordinates international banking messages. The system usually settles transfers through correspondent banks and intermediary accounts in a process that can take one to three days, and depending on the route, each intermediary can deduct anywhere from $15 to $35.
These delays happen because the system was made before online shopping and real-time global trade became a thing. Therefore, transactions move through messaging networks first and only later settle between financial institutions, and in that time, funds remain in limbo.
And it’s not just SWIFT; many other systems work the same way. For instance, the Automated Clearing House handles payments in groups, and stock trades often settle …