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Blockchain and Banking

connect Bitcoin payments and national stores, especially in South Africa. According

to McKenzie Baker (2018), the number of mobile phone users has risen from less than

3% to 80% within a decade, with African countries increasingly becoming familiar

with digital solutions to move money. However, there are still 350 million people

without a bank account in some countries, such as Sub-Saharan Africa, which has

not yet caught up with technology development, representing 17% of the global total.

Therefore, the advantages of blockchain in the region are very different, with a newly

formed financial market for countries such as Zimbabwe and Namibia. At the same

time, Mauritius is a leader in using blockchain technology in the region.

Similarly, Kenya is also evolving in payment and banking operations to become

a place to apply several blockchain technologies. Ghana is considering using block­

chain to register land, and several nations want to exploit blockchain in digital iden­

tity, supply chain routes, healthcare and finance. The technology platform of FlexID

aims to facilitate a blockchain-based digital identity running on the Algorand proto­

col and cryptocurrency transactions for Zimbabwe as the critical driver of the coun­

try’s blockchain technology.

12.4  FUTURE TRENDS IN USING BLOCKCHAIN

TECHNOLOGY IN THE BANKING SYSTEM

The implementation of banking and finance technology has enabled business

transactions in various sectors (Peters and Panayi, 2016; Frame and White, 2014)

and generated innovations in commerce and business (Ceremeno, 2016). In recent

times, studies by Nakamoto (2009), Cherukupally (2020), Garg et al. (2020) and

Chang et al. (2020) and the blockchain transition trend confirm that as the banking

industry operates on the blockchain payment network, transactions will continue to

expand, and this is a prominent trend in the financial sector. The birth of blockchain

emphasizes that the financial industry is in a highly evolved era of fintech develop­

ment, marking the world economy’s transition and transformation. It is regarded

as one of society’s future technologies, especially as the Internet and technology

4.0 are increasingly emerging in a strong globalization trend. Indeed, individuals

will be exposed to a massive, highly protected data system with blockchain technol­

ogy advancement, where anything can become a service. Blockchain technology is

intended to extend partnerships, databases and social interactions further and, in

particular, to save costs because transactions are directly exchanged between two

parties, not by any third party.

Blockchain technology has resulted in several financial and banking shifts in

developed and developing countries, bringing many benefits. This trend will con­

tinue to evolve in the future. In Zimbabwe and Namibia, implementing a modern

blockchain network was in its infancy when the financial industry began to expand.

Still, the emergence of technology firms created opportunities for these nations.

Vietnam is also starting to experiment with blockchain in banking and influence

the supply chain in Asia. HSBC Bank successfully launched letter credit transaction

(L/C) on the blockchain platform. The trade on the blockchain platform between Duy

Tan Plastic Manufacturing Joint Stock Company (Vietnam) and INEOS Styrolution