Abu Dhabi – Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) has become the first Islamic bank that went live on the UAE’s KYC (Know Your Customer) Blockchain Platform.

Through the platform, which is a national ecosystem for the exchange of verified KYC data between licensing authorities and financial institutions, all authenticated and validated KYC data of firms will be shared simultaneously with financial institutions of their preference.

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, according to a press release.

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.

Currently, KYC Blockchain Platform has expanded after the joining of Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), Ras Al Khaimah Free Trade Zone (RAKEZ), RAK International Corporate Centre (RAK ICC), the listed Mashreq Bank, and WioBank.

It is worth noting that Swedish fintech company norbloc is the technology provider which enables the ecosystem through its Fides Blockchain Platform.

Acting Global Head of Retail Banking at ADIB, Samih Awadhalla, said: “When ADIB joined the UAE KYC Blockchain Consortium, we did so with the clear goal of developing onboarding operations and providing more secure ways of handling and exchanging data.”

The CEO of Dubai Business Licence Corporation, Ahmad Khalifa Al Falasi, said: “Through this advanced mechanism, we aim to further improve the ease of doing business, and overall, further enhance and ensure regulatory compliance in the UAE.”

Al Falasi elaborated: “As blockchain is a breakthrough technology, we see tremendous potential in streamlining services and operations, saving time, money, and resources for everyone involved – individuals, companies, and government bodies.”

Meanwhile, Astyanax Kanakakis, CEO and Co-Founder of norbloc, said: “The continued expansion of the UAE KYC Blockchain Platform to include key banking institutions, such as ADIB, further strengthens the network which has been live for three years now.”

Kanakakis noted: “ADIB is the third financial institution to join from the emirate of Abu Dhabi, ensuring that norbloc’s Fides platform will continue to provide a significantly better KYC experience for both financial institutions and their clients across the UAE.”

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