There are trends in finance that won’t change. Markets will rise and fall. Money will change hands. Loans will be issued, and interest will be paid.

But trends evolve. Transactions speed up. Payments become more secure. Banking becomes more convenient. The blockchain is a tool not to replace the fundamentals of banking, but to improve them.

Think automation of the lender-borrower relationship. A blockchain system could match borrower and lender based on pre-set criteria. Fewer intermediaries would mean lower costs for all parties. This all falls in line with another industry trend: savings.

The blockchain is also trending as an identity management tool. Greater security measures could reduce or prevent financial data hacks. Its security also makes blockchain a strong candidate for records storage and compliance.

Adopting the blockchain just makes sense for bankers. It provides global connectivity without compromising security. Its automation is an inherent cost-saver. Finance and banking are sectors where money talks, and innovation that drives earnings rises to the top.

Blockchain is on its way up. Here’s what industry experts have to say about the technology.

1. Kumar Gaurav, CEO and Founder of Cashaa

“Stable coins are a convenient combination of the advantages of cryptocurrency, with the stability of the USD. Dozens of them have emerged over the past months, with various mechanisms to remove volatility, and therefore one of the main hurdles to cryptocurrency adoption. Although in reality we still see [stable coins] fluctuating more or less, we see them as one of the trends shaping the future and therefore will start including them in our Cashaa wallet with fiat-to-crypto exchange in the coming weeks.”

2. Rashid Oukhai, CEO and Founder of Peculium.io

“Blockchain technology has great potential for solving many issues. Financing trading is considered one of the most valuable applications of blockchain in the banking sector. Financial institutions such as BNP Paribas and Commerzbank have shifted to financing trade using blockchain technology. In fact, last year they completed a fully digitized transaction successfully, which means that trade agreements between a buyer and a supplier have been completed with full transparency among all involved parties using a blockchain-based commercial transaction. Choosing to create blockchain-based solutions for the future of financing trading will make the banking sector revolutionize the client experience by providing them with a transparent, digital, secured and automated financing transactions. Not only that, this technology could also strengthen the sector’s business relationships, and will unquestionably lead to more opportunities and partnerships.”

3. David Bleznak, CEO and Founder of Totle

“Permissionless blockchains are the only real disruptive tech because they remove banks from playing a role as a notary and clearing house. On-chain protocols significantly improve the process of matching borrowers and lenders, investors and entrepreneurs, contractors and tasks, etc. Additionally, these parties can be on opposite sides of the world and coordinate efficiently using earned value management (EVM).”

4. Javad Afshar, President of BlockchainBTM

“The speed of transaction will be the number one trend and benefit that will shape blockchain in banking. With bitcoin having a transaction verified in 10 minutes, there are other blockchain developments that make processing payments even faster.”

5. Eric Solis, CEO and Founder of MovoCash, Inc

“The benefits of blockchain are clear. Global reach and more secure transactions [are among them]. Traditional and largely domestic financial institutions are going to have to utilize blockchain technology to keep up with the global competitive landscape that is developing, or they will lose customers to banking alternatives that are expanding worldwide.”

6. Dr. Michael Yuan, CSO at CyberMiles

“Blockchain technology is being applied in the banking and finance industry in potentially transformative ways, including: To manage customer identity and data privately and safely, while enabling smoother transactions and financial settlements. To store important financial records in a decentralized network, bringing added privacy and security to banking. To support a large library of smart contracts that power decentralization of processes, such as dispute resolutions.”