Blockchain

: the effects on cross-border transactions

Abstract

Blockchain is getting increased attention from media, politics, practitioners as well as from academics. Nonetheless, the literature is scarce about the impact of blockchain on cross-border transactions. Thus, this thesis will analyze the impact of blockchain on cross-border transactions. It begins by explaining the role of intermediaries within the cross-border transaction process and comparing current solutions to send money across borders. Thereby, it remarks the prevalent trade-off between cost and pace. Second, the thesis explains the technology of blockchain and explains the rise of consortia and emphasizes the importance of the fulfillment of technology, governance and liability as well as legal and regulatory standards. Afterwards, it discusses and assesses the selected consortia, Ripple Labs Inc and Libra Association, in order to provide an overview of how close today’s blockchain-based solutions are to having an impact on cross-border transactions. At last, a comparison between current solutions of selected blockchain solutions will be demonstrated. A major finding of this work is the fact that the development of blockchain triggered established players such as SWIFT or Bank of America to innovate the current system of cross-border transactions. Moreover, blockchain increases pace and decreases cost of transaction and thus, solves the prevalent trade off. Additionally, this research highlights how the unbanked world would get impacted by the implementation of blockchain and what must be done in order to unfold the full potential of the blockchain technology.

Date of Award	6 Feb 2020
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	José Faias (Supervisor)