Texas-based financial services institution, USAA, is reportedly examining the Bitcoin technology for further optimization of the processes.
Managing director of corporate development at the financial services firm catering to the current and the former members of the US military, Alex Marquez, said that, “the company and its banking, insurance, and investment management subsidiaries hoped the blockchain technology could help decentralize its operations such as the back office.”
USAA has created a large team of professionals to study the potential benefits of the blockchain technology, which allows for an instant transfer of payments, and anonymously.
The financial institution has high expectations from the one of the most disruptive technologies of the decade.
“We have a serious interest in the blockchain and we think the technology would have an impact on the organization,” said Marquez. “The fact that we have such a large group of people working on this shows how serious we are about the potential of this technology.”
With this dip into the Bitcoin technology, USAA joins the list of high-profile financial institutions who have announced similar forays into this industry. Earlier, the New York-based multinational financial services firm Bank of New York Mellon, and the Swiss banking giant UBS had formed similar research teams to understand and tap the full potential of the Bitcoin technology and utilize it to develop applications other than currency.
USAA, like most other organizations, is more interested in the underlying technology and not Bitcoin as a currency. However, since the research is still in its nascent stage, it is yet to be figured out how the technology can be best used to increase the efficiency of the operations.
USAA’s attraction towards the Bitcoin technology is not new; the firm had earlier also invested in the leading Bitcoin wallet company, Coinbase in January this year.