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While most equipment leasing and finance executives believe blockchain technology is relevant and offers a competitive advantage, very few have acted on it, according to the findings of research by the Alta Group.

The authors - Valerie Gerard and Shawn Halladay of Alta and Deborah Reuben, president of Reuben Creative, advise organisations that they should be learning more now and working together to take advantage of the benefits blockchain.

Gerard said: “Blockchain is here, and the industry leaders needs to be proactive in deciding whether or not to adopt what’s looking like a revolutionizing technology.

“The equipment leasing and finance industry simply cannot afford to ‘wait and see’ with blockchain.

“CEOs should lead very strategic conversations on this technology within their organizations because it has the potential to affect many areas of the business.”

Other parts of the financial sector are making progress in adopting blockchain, most notably the mortgage and insurance industries and among fintech companies, the report notes.

Reuben added: “We can take inspiration from innovations happening in other industries and keep in mind that this is about rethinking what we do, eliminating customer experience friction, and understanding the business problems to solve before applying technology.

“Although the equipment leasing and finance industry may have been slow to adopt technology innovation in the past, our yesterday does not have to dictate our tomorrow, we can find new ways to work together, think differently, and innovate to shape the future.”

Shawn Halladay said that the benefits of blockchain to the industry will include greater data security, new cost efficiencies, and the ability to get closer to the customer with shared information.

Halladay added: “Potential use cases cast a wide net from payment processes, to ‘Know Your Customer’ initiatives, asset management, syndications and securitization.”

Blockchain Beyond the Hype: Perspective for the Equipment Finance Industry is here: http://thealtagroup.com/blockchain/