The blockchain technology will be ready for mass implementation only in 3-4 years, Russia's Central Bank deputy chair Olga Skorobogatova believes.

According to the official, despite the “exploding interest” to the distributed ledger last year, today “the situation and the rhetoric have changed” since regulators and companies “discovered many imperfections and risk zones,” reports Bankir.ru.

“The myth of blockchain, that everything is ready for the transfer and it is already possible to reduce expenses and get rid of banks, has turned out to be but a myth. It is absolutely clear that it will take 3-4 years to work it out,” Skorobogatova said speaking at the international forum “Banks of Russia - XXI century”.

Yet, the deputy chair of the Central Bank is certain that in the near future the practice of banking will radically change — account managers and cashiers will be replaced by automated systems, while people retain the intellectual element of work. “And it will probably be present not in banks, but in fintech companies, working alongside the banks. These changes will occur within 3-5 years,” Olga Skorobogatova predicts.

“The understanding how banks relate to fintech is already here. Only 4-5 years ago everybody would say that there is no relation at all... Today, 65% of banks recognise fintech as a partner. 45% support cooperation, 43% consider it right to invest in fintech companies.”

Skorobogatova noted that the regulator together with banks and the fintech companies discuss the possibility of creating a consortium to promote and develop innovations in the financial sector. “I also like the idea of an innovation hub allowing to examine technologies and evaluate them regarding the ways of regulation,” she added.

The creation of the consortium will be discussed, in particular, at the Finopolis-2016 fintech forum to take place in the city of in Kazan on 13-14 October. The event is organised by the Bank of Russia and will focus, among all, on the use and regulation of blockchain.

Olga Timirchinskaya