Dubai, February 19, 2020: norbloc, the premier blockchain Know-Your-Customer (KYC) provider, has been selected the technology provider for the first Blockchain Consortium of banks in the MENA region, comprised of five banks and one government entity in the UAE. Via its flagship product, Fides platform, norbloc will enable exchange of validated KYC data for Corporates between the largest onshore licensing authority in the UAE, Dubai Economic Department (DED), and five of the leading banks in the country: HSBC, Emirates NBD, ADCB, CBD and RAKBANK.
“We’re incredibly excited to be the technology provider for what we believe will become the global standard for sharing of KYC data,” said Astyanax Kanakakis, CEO and Co-founder of norbloc. “The project builds on our other efforts in this market, such as the shared KYC Blockchain initiative launched by Mashreq Bank and licensing authority Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) in July 2019, also built on Fides. We see the progressive approach of UAE banks and government as pace-setting and view their support as testament to the relevance and strength of our products. We believe the formation of this Consortium lays the foundation for a nationwide, unified ecosystem for sharing of enhanced and validated KYC data.”
Fides streamlines the KYC process through digitization and removal of duplicated work between banks, which results in large cost savings and ultimately fosters a more efficient financial services sector. It enables simultaneous sharing of validated corporate KYC data with financial institutions, which shortens the time required to open a bank account for newly registered companies, reducing the burdensome and costly requirements of managing KYC data for banks.
The Consortium will drive the mutualization of KYC efforts among existing and future ecosystem participants, and an agreement among the participating entities will govern KYC efforts among banks, licensing authorities, government bodies, and financial institutions that subscribe to the platform.
The platform will launch in Q1 2020, at which point it will open for additional qualified financial institutions and licensing authorities to join. The future vision is for the Consortium-run ecosystem to nurture ease of doing business as well as overall regulatory compliance in the UAE.
