Government-owned State Bank of India (SBI) – the country’s largest banking corporation, is planning to apply blockchain solutions to a series of financial processes, including Know Your Customer (KYC) management.
A public-sector bank, State Bank of India is the country’s largest banking corporation, with assets of over $460 billion. Earlier this year, SBI founded “Bankchain”, a blockchain consortium created to explore, build and implement blockchain solutions.
Bankchain now has 27 members in India and the Middle East, including India’s biggest public and private banks, technology companies such as IBM, Microsoft and Intel, and young blockchain startups like Primechain Technologies.
SBI is laying the groundwork for its first implementation of blockchain KYC solutions, in partnership with Intel. According to Economic Times, the new technology will increase SBI’s financial transactions efficiency without jeopardizing data confidentiality and transaction security.
“We are breathing and living innovation every day. Blockchain is one such technology that enables more security, and agility, but the true impact of implementing it can only be determined by an open innovation strategy,” said Sudin Baraokar, Head – Innovation, State Bank of India.
Primechain’s patent pending “blockchain and smart contracts based self-managing KYC technology” would be used for the Hyperledger Sawtooth solution.
“By leveraging blockchain components such as Intel SGX and Hyperledger Sawtooth and Primechain’s expertise to build blockchains, we can realize emerging fintech services such as P2P lending, crowdfunding, and digital marketplaces that enable financial inclusion,” Baraokar added.
“The key benefits of blockchain technology for banks include greatly improved security, reduced infrastructure cost, greater transparency and auditability, and real-time automated settlement,” Shinam Arora, co-founder of Primechain said.
In June, Bankchain revealed its first project, “Clear Chain”. The project saw several major Indian Banks develop blockchain solutions to customer data sharing. Participating banks will be able to share Know Your Customer (KYC), Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) data.
State Bank of India to apply blockchain KYC solutions – Image source: Paul Noronha/The Hindu