Banks in Belgium to Adopt Blockchain for Corporate KYC

Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, ING Belgium and KBC have announced that they will use the blockchain application KUBE, developed by Isabel Group, for sharing corporate data as part of the
January 30, 2020 - Editor
Category: Technology

Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, ING Belgium and KBC have announced that they will use the blockchain application KUBE, developed by Isabel Group, for sharing corporate data as part of the Know Your Customer (KYC) process.

It is claimed that the new process will streamline the verification and maintenance of corporate identities for businesses and banks, strengthening Anti Money Laundering (AML).

Banks are obliged to verify the identities of the directors and principal shareholders of businesses opening business accounts, and to do so regularly, to prevent money laundering and fraud. Using KUBE this information can be shared.  

The European AML Directive requires business customers to be verified. This process is time-consuming for banks and their customers. It is currently carried out for each bank individually and has to be repeated frequently. To streamline the process for all parties involved, the four major Belgian banks and Isabel Group are creating a platform for sharing business identity information.

Customers will need to enter their data on the platform just once, and it will then be verified and validated by a bank. After that, the data will be shared securely between the member organisations using KUBE. When a business opens an account with another bank all teh required information will already be available, enabling businesses to open accounts without excessive red tape and delays.

“The development of KUBE is an important step in further administrative streamlining in our country. It is an essential measure in combating fraud, money-laundering, and other illegal financial activities,” said Jean de Crane, CEO of Isabel Group. “The banks will not only use this data source to help prevent criminal activity, but the identification process and the maintenance of their data will also be more efficient for customers.”

KUBE is a secure, decentralised database based on blockchain technology. The Belgian financial sector is the first to make extensive use of blockchain for the identification of businesses

 


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