The U.K.’s former Prime Minister David Cameron said on Monday that the blockchain can be used to fight government corruption and that he is ‘excited’ about the potential that the technology presents.
Speaking at the opening of FinTech startup Blockchain’s new London offices, Cameron said that what ‘most excites me is the potential that your technology has to fight corruption and to deal with failures of governance and governments and the rule of law all over the world,’ reports Business Insider.
Talking about countries where so many people are trapped in poverty with corrupt and failed governments, Cameron added that there are plenty of opportunities with the blockchain.
He said:
You have this opportunity to give the poorest and the most marginalised, the most dispossessed people in the world, to be able to have property rights, to be able to carry out transactions, to be able to save, to be able to invest.
He added that the technology could also be utilized to make governments and countries less corrupt and to prove a ‘sense of trust in the institutions that we use.’
As London continues to maintain its hold as the global FinTech hub despite Brexit fears, banks are turning their attention to the blockchain. Last year, Santander became the first U.K. bank to use Ripple Labs’ blockchain technology for cross-border payments.
As the bank works to ensure its banking is fair, personal, and simple, it invested in Ripple’s Series A funding round as an investor, bringing the round’s total to $32 million, last October.
UBS has also stated that more banks are starting to work with FinTech companies instead of regarding them as competition.
With the use of the blockchain-based systems, banks are realizing that the technology will ultimately reduce the risk of error and the time needed for error checking in situations such as transaction settlements.
London Paving the Way for FinTech
As the global hub for FinTech, London continues to lead the way.
From an unlikely corner, in 2015, the then London mayoral candidate and controversial former MP George Galloway proposed to use the blockchain to track the capital’s $17 billion budget in real time, reports Finextra.
Yet, from many corners, the FinTech scene in London is experiencing plenty of support.
The Bank of England’s governor Mark Carney has expressed his view on FinTech saying that it is ‘democratizing financial services’ by creating a new financial system for a new age.
The U.K.’s chief scientific advisor, Sir Mark Walport, explained that the blockchain has the potential to help governance to politicians and leaders of authority while the U.K.’s former Chancellor of the Exchequer, George Osborne, has spoken about digital currencies, saying that they ‘may now well play a big part in our financial future.’
Keen to maintain the position London holds, Cameron added that there is ‘a huge opportunity here in Britain.’
Featured image from Shutterstock.
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