Swift panel discusses future of bitcoin in banking sector

At the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT) panel meeting held this week, correspondent banking leaders mainly focussed on bitcoin and digital currency technology revolutionising the banking system now and it's potential to do so in the future.

"We really can't close our eyes," said Cheryl Gurz, managing director of the emerging technology segment at Bank of New York Mellon Treasury Services. "If we as traditional correspondent bankers don't keep looking and determining where [cryptocurrency technology] will take us, new entrants will completely take our space. What is the technology that is enabling Bitcoin currency to move effectively with more visibility and at lower costs. How can we take that into our current systems and make them more efficient, faster, cheaper and more transparent?"

Bitcoin and cryptocurrency technology are expected to make a foray into the banking sector through the back door. The banking sector is undergoing a period of transformation and it is possible that within a couple of years  it may be forced by the speed and ability of virtual currency to either adapt to it, or get passed by as people do their transactions on their smartphones, without needing a centralized middleman.