Dubai International Finance Centre and Mashreq Bank are inviting other banks in the region to join a blockchan-based KYC data sharing coalition after running the first live transactions to support licensed businesses and corporates opening digital bank accounts instantly.
The platform, devloped by DIFC-incubated fintech firm norbloc, is now live and available to all UAE-based corporates and banks.
Under the initiative, DIFC prepares the KYC record during the corporate licence application, which is then shared over the distributed ledger with Mashreq. Norbloc provided the blockchain platform (Fides), Gowling WLG assisted in drafting the legal agreements, while Deloitte supported Mashreq Bank with the overall governance and programme management.
As part of the live roll out, DIFC and Mashreq have created a consortium framework covering key tenets required for large-scale adoption by other participants joining the ecosystem. Key aspects around consortium governance, business and operating model are defined and ready for scale up, they say..
Ahmed Abdelaal, CEO of Mashreq Bank, comments: “The programme aligns with the UAE Blockchain Strategy 2021, earmarking the beginning of a journey towards a broader vision of forming a consortium of banks, government bodies as well as other licensing authorities, for seamless sharing of customer KYC data, thus leading to increased transparency, added security and a better customer experience.”