The end of physical money is nigh, that’s the opinion of senior finance executives surveyed by Deloitte Consulting LLP.

The Global Blockchain Survey of 1,280 execs from 10 different global locations revealed that 76 per cent of respondents thought that digital assets were set to replace fiat currency within the next five to 10 years.

It’s a sentiment that if it proved correct, will have a significant impact on financial services globally.

Reflecting on the data collected by Deloitte, company principal and global and US blockchain and digital assets leader Linda Pawczuk said: “The foundation of banking has been fundamentally outlived and financial services industry players must redefine themselves and find innovative ways to create economic growth in the future of money.”

The survey showed that nearly 80 per cent of FSI leaders believed that digital assets and blockchain technologies were a strategic priority now and in the future.

Another principal at Deloitte Consulting LLP, Richard Walker, said that ‘as digital asset disruption rapidly changes the marketplace, global financial services are striving to reinvent themselves, creating businesses to generate new sources of revenue’.

“Opportunities for real change in several areas of the global financial markets exist for those players that explore new ways to harness the power of blockchain technology and digital assets to reimagine their business modes,” Mr Walker added.

These survey results came just days before a new report was released by Payment News & Mobile Payments Trends (PYMNTS), indicating that six out of 10 multinational companies are using at least one form of digital currency, and to some extent blockchain technology for transactional purposes.

PYMNTS, in collaboration with global financial technology firm Circle, surveyed executives at 250 multinational businesses and 250 financial institutions and the resounding response was that utility matters most for global companies, which are six times more likely to use cryptocurrencies for transactional purposes rather than hold them as investment assets.