The Challenge
Internal Settlement Challenges
Financial institutions, especially large banks, often grapple with complex internal settlement challenges.
These banks maintain a plethora of ledgers, often exceeding 100 in number, distributed across various business units and geographical locations.Â
Each of these ledgers receives independent updates from a multitude of internal and external systems, resulting in a lack of coordination. This decentralization can lead to:
High Reconciliation Costs
Banks have to employ teams to investigate and resolve reconciliation breaks between ledgers, costing millions of dollars annually.
Legacy System Constraints
Banks often rely on outdated legacy systems to manage their ledgers, which can be slow, prone to errors, and require specialized skills to maintain. These systems are also typically resistant to integration with new technologies such as DLT.
Scalability Issues
As banks grow, expand, and merge their businesses, the number and complexity of ledgers also increase. Existing systems may struggle to scale and accommodate such growth, leading to inefficiencies and inaccuracies.
Regulatory Hurdles
With each new ledger protocol introduced, the compliance and regulatory requirements increase. Banks must ensure they stay compliant, which adds to the complexity and cost of operations.