Pakistan Banks to Use Blockchain Technology for KYC

Banks in Pakistan plan to launch an electronic platform for know-your-customer procedures that will be operating on a national level. The blockchain-based system will allow them to exchange the personal information of customers through what they describe as a decentralized and self-regulated network.

Pakistan Banks’ Association (PBA) has signed a contract for the implementation of a blockchain-based know-your-customer (KYC) platform which will be developed by Avanza Group. The latter unites companies specializing in advanced banking applications, customer experience management solutions, blockchain, and artificial intelligence.

The signing ceremony was held at the industry organization’s office in Karachi on Thursday and was attended by a number of officials, including its Chairman, Muhammad Aurangzeb and the CEO of Avanza Innovations, Waqas Mirza, the PBA announced.

The project to create the electronic KYC system is part of ongoing efforts of the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to strengthen the country’s anti-money laundering (AML) and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) control infrastructure, a press release elaborated.

“In addition to strengthening AML controls, the deployment of this platform will bring about efficiencies at participating banks and will result in improvement in customer experience,” detailed the PBA, which has been overseeing the project on behalf of its members.

Consonance, the e-KYC platform designed by Avanza, uses blockchain technology to enable banks to standardize and exchange personal details via a “decentralized and self-regulated network.” That should happen with customers’ consent, according to the association.

Banks will be able to make assessments of their existing and new customers using the data from KYC checks performed by other participating institutions. This should minimize onboarding costs and improve customer experience when opening an account, thus “facilitating financial inclusion,” the PBA insisted.

In March, last year, SBP Governor Reza Baqir was quoted as stating that he sees few good use cases for crypto. At the same time, he acknowledged that blockchain technology can be useful with its potential to solve many problems.

Do you think Pakistani banks will find other use cases for blockchain technology? Tell us in the comments section below.