Blockchain developers have found a supporter in former Prime Minister David Cameron who praised the technology for its potential to revolutionise not only finance and insurance, but governance as well.
Cameron, who stepped down in June following the Brexit vote, spoke at the launch of fintech start-up Blockchain’s new offices in east London on Monday, Business Insider UK reported.
“Obviously you’ve got amazing opportunity using blockchain technology in areas like banking and finance and insurance, but I think some of the public policy applications are potentially transformational,” Cameron was quoted as saying in the report.
“I think there are so many opportunities that your technology has because it is digital, because it is decentralized, because it is transparent, because it is held away from governments,” Cameron added.
The former Prime Minister said that blockchain is “on the brink of a very exciting revolution.”
“It’s great to be at the start of a revolution here in London, I hope you keep this revolution going,” he said.
PwC creates blockchain prototype for London market
Two days after Cameron’s event, accountancy giant PwC announced that it had created a blockchain prototype for the London market’s modernisation efforts.
The company’s blockchain team of 25 engineers in Belfast developed the proof of concept, which focuses on enhancing interactions between multiple different London Market parties involved in a claims process including brokers.
The automated process includes claim creation, supporting documents, invoice creation and approval or rejection of invoices. It shows how blockchain can make interaction between multiple parties in the claims process more efficient.
As part of the trial, various parties were given different roles and permissions to view data. Smart contracts were used to automatically approve claims that met pre-agreed conditions. This resulted in reduced administrative costs and burdens as well as faster claims approval and payment.
“This proof of concept demonstrates the potential for efficiency and the elimination of error and duplicated information,” said Steve Webb financial services blockchain leader at PwC.
“It shows how blockchain can reduce costs and speed up the claims process in the London Market, allowing experts to focus on more value-add complex claims.”
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