Al Masraf bank has become the 10 th bank to join the Norbloc KYC Blockchain platform developed under the initiative with Department of Economy and Tourism (DET). Al Masraf has announced the launch of a project that will see it connecting to the norbloc Fides platform, a blockchain-based solution that allows for the secure sharing of eKYC data. The network, which has been live since 2020, connects licensing authorities, free zones and financial institutions across the emirates in an ecosystem, where a single version of each customer KYC file is maintained and shared, ensuring that financial institutions always have access to the latest and most up-to-date KYC data. Graham FitzGerald, CEO Al Masraf stated, “Becoming part of the Fides ecosystem allows us to obtain all of these objectives, as well as join other leading financial institutions in making use of this innovative technology. It is an important step with in line with a broader effort to digitize and streamline our cust...

    Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has become the first Islamic bank that went live on the UAE’s KYC (Know Your Customer) Blockchain Platform. The UAE KYC Blockchain Platform is expected to accelerate the opening of bank accounts for newly registered companies while paving the way for a less cumbersome and costly process of managing KYC data for firms already registered with the system. It will also facilitate a faster, more secure onboarding and exchange of digital customer data and documents; this will be carried out through advanced blockchain-powered distributed technologies. The initiative was launched in February 2020 by Dubai’s Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) with the partnership of four founding member banks; three listed lenders which are Emirates NBD, Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), and Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB), in addition to HSBC. Norbloc Blockchain KYC solution provider implemented the KYC Blockchain platform to facilitate a faster, more sec...

  Governor of Central Bank of Kuwait Basel Al Haroon in an  interview  with John Everington from the Banker, discussed the implementation of Blockchain EKYC solution as well as the ongoing research for CBDCs. According to the governor of Kuwait’s Central Bank, the bank is closely following the experiences of other countries that are issuing CBDCs, as well as the debates taking place among stakeholders in various countries regarding the various pros and cons.   He tells the Banker that they have formed a team of experts from various fields within the CBK to study the topic. According to Al Haroon, any such issuance would need to be accomplished in a way that preserves monetary and financial stability, while maintaining confidence in Kuwait’s payment system. In addition when it comes to blockchain, two local Kuwait banks have obtained the Central Bank’s approval to launch their blockchain based KYC verification and API interfaces. In June 2021, Akcess which utili...

    In 2021 Avanza Innovations was piloting its KYC banking solution in Pakistan, two years later, Pakistan Banks’ Association (PBA), on behalf of all its member banks, signed the project contract for the development and execution of Pakistan’s first, blockchain based, national eKYC banking platform with the Avanza Group. Avanza Group’s eKYC platform, ‘Consonance’, is being implemented for PBA. The platform will use blockchain technology through which banks will be able to standardize and exchange, with customers’ consent, their details via a decentralized and self-regulated network. This will be a support platform for Pakistan’s banking industry and all participating member banks will be able to perform assessments of their existing, as well as new customers, by utilizing information/ data available with any other bank on ‘Consonance’. In 2021 Avanza was piloting the EKYC blockchain enabled platform with three big banks. In an interview Waqas Mirza, Founder and CEO of ...