Page 43 - Banking Finance October 2020

ARTICLE

technology for providing the services like travel insurance, Conclusion
claim settlement to improve customer service (like
Blockchain Technology that brought about the technological
settlement of claims in the case of flight delays even before
revolution in recent times has very high potential applications
customer request).
in various industries and sectors. While few were first in
adopting this technology in their operations, many are still
In Banking, JP Morgan, along with seven top Indian Banks
sceptical and are in the process of exploring the possible
like ICICI, Axis has brought the blockchain technology
ways that suit their requirements. Though it became hugely
platform that enables payments to reach the beneficiaries
popular with cryptocurrency applications, the adoption of
faster. The platform, named Interbank Information Network
the technology globally in different sectors can transform
(IIN), is aimed at providing secure information exchange for
the way operations are carried out.
cross-border payments which significantly reduces costs and
time taken to complete a successful transaction. References
Wikipedia
State Bank of India, along with ICICI, DCB, Kotak Mahindra,
Reserve Bank of India website
Federal, Deutsche and UAE Exchange, in collaboration with
Primechain Technologies, has started a platform - BankChain News articles from papers/e-papers/related information on
to explore the possibilities of shared KYC/AML, cross border the net
payments, peer-to-peer payments and security controls. Various studies on the topic available in public domain. T

Pandemic to keep Asia’s growth at lowest since 1967:

World Bank

The coronavirus pandemic is expected to lead to the slowest growth in more than 50 years in East Asia and the Pacific
as well as China, while up to 38 million people are set to be pushed back into poverty, the World Bank said in an economic
update. The bank said the region this year is projected to grow by only 0.9%, the lowest rate since 1967.
Growth in China was expected to come in at 2% this year, boosted by government spending, strong exports and a low
rate of new coronavirus infections since March, but held back by slow domestic consumption. The rest of the East Asia
and Pacific region was projected to see a 3.5% contraction, the World Bank said. The pandemic and efforts to contain
its spread led to a "significant curtailment" of economic activity, the report said.
"These domestic difficulties were compounded by the pandemic-induced global recession, which hit EAP (East Asia and
Pacific) economies that rely on trade and tourism hard," it said. Countries in the region may need to pursue fiscal
reform to mobilise revenue in response to the economic and financial impact from the pandemic, while social protection
programmes can help support workers' integration back into the economy, the Washington, DC-based bank said.

"Countries with well-functioning social protection programs, and good implementation infrastructure, pre-Covid-19,
have been able to scale up more quickly during the pandemic," it said.

The economic shock of the pandemic was also expected to lead to a jump in poverty, defined as income of $5.50 a day,
the bank said, adding that based on past experience and the latest gross domestic product forecasts, poverty could
expand by 33 million to 38 million people to see its first rise in 20 years.

The bank said that 33 million people who would have in the absence of the pandemic escaped poverty would remain
in it this year. "The region is confronted with an unprecedented set of challenges," said Victoria Kwakwa, vice-president
for East Asia and the Pacific at the World Bank. "But there are smart policy options available that can soften these
tradeoffs - such as investing in testing and tracing capacity and durably expanding social protection to cover the poor
and the informal sector." (Source: Business Standard.)

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