Swiss banking giant UBS is to open a technology lab in London to explore how blockchain technology can be used in financial services.

The lab, set to open this month and occupy a dozen desks at Canary Wharf-based fintech accelerator space Level39 – a hub in London for financial technology startups-- will bring together technology experts from the bank and the wider fintech community, UBS said.

Lab members and invited guests will experiment with how blockchain -- the underlying technology behind bitcoin -- can be adapted to process a wide range of financial transactions in a more efficient and cost-effective way, the bank said.

The lab will aim to develop new technologies that deal with industry-wide issues, such as the need to manage and analyze vast amounts of data, or better evaluate risk.