UAE - The UAE KYC Blockchain Platform has further expanded with Mashreq Bank partnering on the initiative with Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), Dubai.

Mashreq Bank joins a group of four banks that are currently live on the network, including ENBD, CBD, ADCB and HSBC. More banks and licensing authorities are currently in implementation phase and will be announced soon.

The UAE KYC Blockchain Platform is a national ecosystem for the exchange of verified “know your customer” data between licensing authorities and financial institutions, enabling companies setting up operations in the UAE to instantly open a bank account. It also allows for KYC data remediation, meaning automatic KYC data renewals will be sent to institutions participating in the ecosystem.

The project was launched in February 2020, and currently involves 13 entities, and is powered by norbloc, a global leader in enterprise blockchain technologies that enable sharing of regulated data.

“We focus on enhancing ease of doing business in Dubai and supporting the smart transformation of the emirate's economy. Our partnership with banks to launch the first KYC blockchain platform in the UAE is an important step towards continuing to attract investors to this market. The platform offers a digital 'Instant Bank Account' functionality, allowing faster and less cumbersome onboarding journey with banks and significantly improving the experience of new investors looking to establish themselves in the UAE,” said Mohammed Hassan AlShehhi, Acting CEO, Business Registration and Licensing sector in DET.

"We are pleased to welcome Mashreq Bank to the UAE KYC Blockchain Platform and joining the existing group of banks, which will give investors an additional option to open a digital bank account with this reputed bank. We intent to expand and accelerate the initiative to include more financial institutions and licensing authorities as well as additional use cases including SME funding, investor screening, and integration with additional trusted data sources,” added AlShehhi.

The UAE KYC Blockchain Platform will lead to significantly improved customer data quality in the UAE, which will underpin the future expansion of the network and its evolving use as a comprehensive customer data ecosystem.

Vikas Thapar, Head of Business Banking and NEOBiz, at Mashreq Bank, said: “As a champion of technology and innovation, Mashreq Bank previously partnered with Dubai International Financial Centre to launch the region’s first blockchain data sharing platform. We are delighted to be taking this to the next level by joining the UAE KYC Blockchain Platform, working with our partners to enhance the ease of doing business across the country. Mashreq is a leader in digitalization and we are continuously looking for innovative ways to deliver the best banking experience for our customers, providing simple, seamless and efficient solutions.”

Astyanax Kanakakis, CEO and co-founder of norbloc, said: “Mashreq Bank was one of the earliest financial institutions in the UAE to understand the potential and importance of building a KYC utility that allows for data sharing, and one of the first to commit to this effort together with the DIFC. Both of these important entities are now combining efforts with DET and the other banks and free zones to create an even more powerful and inclusive ecosystem, and strengthening the network effects of improved data quality, efficiency gains and better customer service we are seeing as a result.”

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