Indian banks may not be friendly towards cryptocurrency, but it is sure that they are accepting the great potential of blockchain technology. Various trusted and popular banks in India like ICICI, Axis and Kotak Mahindra Bank are already utilizing blockchain technology for cross border money transfers.
According to a report, Syndicate Bank is planning for creating a private blockchain to fasten the ATM reconciliation process that usually takes around 5 days.
Managing Director Mrutyunjay Mahapatra says: “Say you are a Syndicate Bank customer taking money out of a Syndicate Bank or ICICI Bank ATM. If say you tried to withdraw Rs 10,000, and you get a message saying your account has been debited, but cash has not been dispensed – what do you do?”
Usually, a customer calls his bank and informs about this incident. After this, the customer has to wait for around four to five days until the bank checks its systems to verify whether a transaction has occurred or not. Once it is confirmed that transaction occurred, the bank reimburses the amount to a customer’s bank account. This extra time could now be reduced with the help of blockchain technology.
Mrutyunjay Mahapatra further adds: “When the ATM becomes a block in a series of transactions, the system would immediately check the opening balance for the day, run through all the transactions that took place since then, and if there is more money in the ATM than what the digital transactions noted, that means it’s obvious your money has not been dispensed. So our system will immediately alert you. Your attempt to withdraw Rs 10, 000 has failed as cash was not dispensed. The amount will be reversed back to the account within 2 working days.”
It is not the banks who are accepting blockchain technology, but the Indian government is also accepting the great potential of this amazingly popular and innovative technology. A government of Telangana has collaborated with Cognito Technologies for providing credit ratings to the population.
Cognito Technologies is a UK based startup. It has decided to set up an office in hi-tech city Hyderabad in January month of this year. Moreover, it is planning to employ 15 staff members.
Cognito has planned to work in collaboration with Sthree Nidhi Credit Cooperative Federation Ltd. It is a government branch that provides affordable credit to the members of self-help groups operating across the country.
