TMG Chief Technology Officer pens white paper on future of blockchain technology
TMG CTO Pam Brodsack cautions financial institutions not to put the cart before the horse with blockchain technology
DES MOINES, IA (June 14, 2016) — Rather than ask, “How can we use blockchain in our business?” financial institution leaders should first ask, “What are the problems we want to solve?” That is the advice TMG Chief Technology Officer Pam Brodsack shares in a new white paper looking at the potential for blockchain technology to change the world of financial services.
“Any time a tech innovation reaches the mainstream, it’s accompanied by an intense hope: Could this be the long-awaited answer to all of our problems? So naturally, blockchain technology is having something of a moment,” writes Brodsack. “Indeed, there is opportunity. There are very real scenarios those of us studying the technology can envision. At the same time, it’s important not to put the cart before the horse.”
Brodsack is among several of TMG’s leaders working with strategic partner CO-OP Financial Services and Mercator Advisory Group on a series of blockchain studies. The studies are intended to create much-needed clarity around the potential for blockchain technology in the community financial institution space.
“Blockchain continues to generate a lot of excitement,” said TMG CEO Shazia Manus. “Yet, the technology will go through multiple tests and iterations before it evolves to the point it can enter the highly regulated mainstream ecosystem. We have to proactively understand the applicability of the technology, find appropriate use cases, pivot, fail forward and be ready to integrate only when the technology becomes the right fit for our business problems.”
After providing a good definition of blockchain, the veteran technology expert discusses some of the ways blockchain may be executed within the financial services industry. She goes on, however, to list four significant hurdles that will need to be addressed before any large-scale adoption can take hold – interoperability, ownership, complicated history and integration.
Brodsack closes the paper by referencing TMG’s ongoing research into the technology. “Blockchain is likely capable of advancing the goals of the world’s community financial institutions and the consumers they serve. If the opportunities are out there, we intend to find them. Stay tuned as we explore the business problems that can be solved by blockchain and create a strategic decision framework on which credit unions and community banks can rely.”
Download the white paper, “Will Blockchain Change the World?” at www.tmg.global/blockchain.
About TMG
TMG is dedicated to creating customized, technology-driven card processing and payment solutions for credit unions and community-based financial institutions across North America. Innovations in fraud management, loyalty programs, alternative payment systems and analytic reporting, and the competitive advantages they create, have helped TMG forge a new standard in offering cutting-edge credit, debit, ATM, prepaid card products and a P2P payment solution. For more information, visit www.tmg.global.
