IBMwill join the fray this week by announcing a partnership with China UnionPay to let bank customers exchange bonus points in different loyalty schemes.

IBM本周加入到区块链(blockchain)领域的混战中，它宣布与中国银联(China UnionPay)建立合作关系、让银行客户能够交换不同客户忠诚度计划中的奖励积分。

Arguing that such a project would be prohibitively complex and costly using conventional technology, IBM and China UnionPay say that it is only possible because of the blockchain system that underpins bitcoin, the cryptocurrency.

IBM和银联解释称，若使用传统技术，这种积分交换将会极其复杂、成本极其高昂。它们表示，只有使用区块链系统，这种交换才有可能实现。区块链是加密货币“比特币”(bitcoin)的底层技术。

The US technology group and the Chinese state-owned payment settlement network aim to eventually include all kinds of loyalty schemes in the exchange, including air miles and supermarket reward cards.

这家美国科技集团和这家中国国有支付结算网络的目标是，有朝一日让各种客户忠诚度计划都能参与这种交换，包括航空里程和超市积分卡。

Blockchain technology is a complex set of algorithms and cryptography created to allow bitcoins to be traded and verified electronically over a widely distributed network of computers without a central ledger.

区块链技术是一套复杂的算法和加密手段，创造这种技术是为了让比特币能够在一个完全是分布式的计算机网络上进行电子交易和验证，而无需借助一个中心账本。

Having initially been sceptical about it because of worries over fraud, big banks are now exploring how they can exploit the technology to speed up back-office settlement systems and free billions in capital tied up supporting trades on global markets.

大银行最初因担心欺诈问题而对这种技术持怀疑态度，但现在它们正探索如何能够利用该技术为后台结算系统提速，并解放被固定用来支持全球市场交易的大量资金。

IBM and China UnionPay say that bank customers are often restricted in how they can spend their bonus points in loyalty schemes, so would benefit from a speedy way to exchange them for points in other banks’ schemes.

IBM和银联表示，银行客户在能以何种方式花掉忠诚度计划奖励积分方面往往受到限制，因此，能够快捷地用这些积分去交换其他银行的积分将会让他们受益。

He Shuo, director of China UnionPay’s Electronic Payment Research Institute, said: “Blockchain embeds trust into transactions. This along with similar innovations under way using blockchain will positively change the future of the finance industry.”

中国银联电子支付研究院(Electronic Payment Research Institute)院长何朔表示：“区块链将信任嵌入到交易当中。它以及正在开发的、使用区块链技术的类似创新，将给金融行业的未来带来积极的改变。”

IBM has developed its own blockchain solution and is working with a number of financial institutions on other projects in this area, including Bank of America and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.

IBM已经开发了自己的区块链解决方案，并正与包括美国银行(Bank of America)、三菱东京日联银行(Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi-UFJ)在内的众多金融机构合作，在该领域开展其他项目。

However, there remains significant scepticism about the potential for the largely unproven technology to transform large swaths of financial services.

然而，对于这种基本上未经验证的技术能否彻底改变大批金融服务业务，很多人依然持怀疑态度。

“Blockchain is a technology in search of a problem,” said Alexander Ross, investment executive at Illuminate Finance, a venture capital group focused on financial technology. “We are seeing a very large number of new blockchain companies but only seriously look at backing solutions that solve real world business problems.”

聚焦金融技术的风险资本集团Illuminate Finance的投资经理亚历山大•罗斯(Alexander Ross)表示：“区块链是一种寻找问题来解决的技术。我们看到很多的新区块链公司，但只会认真考察那些解决真实世界商业问题的支持性解决方案。”