Blockchain – A New Small Business Paradigm
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One practical example of a payments processing using blockchain was announced on Oct. 16, 2017. The new consortium, led by IBM, went live to help farmers and other small businesses in underdeveloped countries participate in global trade.
IBM in partnership with FinTech startups Stellar.org and KlickEx Group will use IBM’s hyperledger solution to process financial transactions across borders and currencies.
According to IBM, this offering can be used to manage both the legal and financial credibility of a transaction — from establishing the terms of a contract, to managing documentation, putting up collateral, obtaining letters of credit, and finalizing terms with immediate payment.
Big Blue claims that “in the future the new IBM network could make it possible for a farmer in Samoa to enter into a trade contract with a buyer in Indonesia.” The payment system is already live in 12 different regions across Australia, the Pacific Islands, New Zealand, and the UK and will be expanded over time.
Summary
Blockchain is coming – sooner or later solutions using blockchain will become part of your business processes.
Organizations need to be prepared to work with blockchain solutions and ensure that its usage conforms to one’s business processes, governance requirements, contractual needs, and security and compliance demands (including the new regulations like GDPR that go into effect next year).
On the technology front, blockchain distributed ledgers will change workflows and impact where data is stored. Business executives will have to address these challenges before adopting the blockchain solution.
There are multiple new risk exposures that organizations will need to address before committing to any blockchain implementation. Small business owners and IT executives must ferret these exposures out and determine how they can achieve an acceptable risk exposure level.
Only then should they implement the processes, tools and workflows that will enable them to take advantage of the gains offered by the new technology without incurring undo risks.
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