A project to manage customer onboarding and KYC using blockchain has been launched
June 2020 marked the Beta phase for this project, undertaken in cooperation with the authorities, and bringing together banks, insurance companies, entities of the Public Administration, and businesses in the telecommunications, GDO, energy, utility industries. The goal of the experiment is to simplify the onboarding for the customer, and contemporaneously streamline and improve the Know-Your-Customer process.
Milan, 22 July 2020 – June ushered in the Beta phase for the project on the national level, with CETIF Advisory and Intesa (IBM Group) at the helm, with the collaboration of the authorities, CherryChain and IBM, to digitalise the Onboarding and Know Your Customer process using DLT/blockchain technology.
The main objective is to streamline (reducing time and expenses) the onboarding procedure in order to generate efficiency within the internal processes of all businesses involved. The goal, indeed, is to facilitate the exchange of information needed for the O-KYC process amongst the participants in the ecosystem, through a “wallet” that allows the customer to authorise the transfer of their information from the Custodian to the Requesting Party. Compliance with the GDPR on data management is paramount, thereby ensuring the security of the entire process, vesting the end user with full control over their information, not to mention potential compensation in the form of “tokens” which can be spent within the ecosystem.
The O-KYC initiative arises from the stated need of all those taking part in this system to reduce costs, time, and complexity, all of which were significantly impacting the operational side of these processes. The O-KYC solution will be developed within an experimental process on real data called “Sandbox”, one that has been successfully tested in the past. The project has been spearheaded by a Stakeholder Committee made up of project participants.
At the helm of the project, CETIF Advisory, a spin-off of Università Cattolica and Intesa, an IBM Group company, will be handling project coordination and development, as well as the implementation of a new Compliance-by-Design approach. The project can rely on Fintech-startup CherryChain’s development and integration capabilities, and the blockchain technology in IBM’s cloud within the perimeter of the IBM Startup programme. The project has already drawn a number of stakeholders, with more than 15 businesses from the country’s top industries already on board, with a number of others on deck.
