First Blockchain KYC Prototype Hits Singapore Banking Sphere

A joint effort by a Singapore government authority and several major banks has delivered the first local know-your-customer (KYC) Blockchain prototype.

In a release today quoted by various local news outlets, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, OCBC Bank and HSBC said they had successfully completed a way for identity procedures to be carried out using Blockchain technology.

The prototype came in partnership with the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA), a Singapore government board run under the auspices of the state’s communications ministry.

Singapore thus becomes one step closer to realizing its longer-term goals of deploying Blockchain structures at the state level.

“This willingness to experiment is crucial in achieving our vision of a dynamic Digital Economy for a Smart Nation,” IMDA CEO Tan Kiat How commented quoted by Business Times.

“We are heartened that financial institutions are developing innovative fintech solutions to improve productivity and deliver a better experience to their customers.”

The KYC solution focuses on customer data sharing between member institutions subject to customer agreement.

The move is timely, coming in the wake of revelations about notoriously lax data security practices from major financial institutions Equifax and Deloitte.

“Our pioneering efforts have resulted in a KYC process that will not only enhance customer convenience but will improve the industry’s operating efficiencies while reducing financial fraud and crime,” OCBC head of e-business Pranav Seth added.