Turkey's Akbank head backs blockchain technology

By Gokhan Ergocun and Tuba Sahin

BURSA, Turkey

Consumers are expected to take advantage of blockchain technology which will make the transfer of money faster, cheaper and safer, Turkish private lender Akbank Chief Executive Officer Hakan Binbasgil said on Friday.

Speaking at the 7th Uludag Economy Summit in northwestern Bursa province, Binbasgil said Akbank had tested blockchain -- a technology that records and verifies transactions safely based on cryptography -- with major worldwide banks.

"We started to test this technology two years back and transferred money to our branch in Germany," he said.

He said the Turkish bank was also working with international banks on this technology.

"Blockchain will not only change the banking system but also several sectors," he said.

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The founder of advisory and investment firm M Factory Ventures, Murat Emirdag, said the population of the world is expected to reach 10 billion people by 2050, of which almost all will use mobile internet.

"Change, that we will see in the coming 10 years, will be more than it was in the past 40 years due to technology," he said.

Mentioning topical technology issues such as the internet of things (IoT), blockchain and robotic vehicles, Emirdag highlighted that new working areas will occur and working models will change.

The two-day summit, organized by the Capital and Ekonomist magazines, is being attended by nearly 1,200 businesspeople from around the world.