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HSBC, a Hong Kong-based multinational bank, has become the first foreign entity to join United Arab Emirates’ Know-Your-Customer (KYC) Blockchain Platform.
HSBC Joins UAE’s KYC-Program
HSBC has joined UAE’s Blockchain Platform.
The Dubai Economy’s media office announced the partnership in a Wednesday blog post.
The KYC platform is a state-sponsored program initiated by UAE’s government in February 2020. Enterprise blockchain solution providers norbloc design and run the platform. The state agencies plan to expand its KYC initiative and position it “as the national corporate e-KYC Platform.” The Dubai Economy has announced a partnership with Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) Authority to further its reach.
So far, it has added six Dubai-based banks in Emirates Islamic, Emirates NBD, Commercial Bank of Dubai, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, RAKBANK, and Mashreq Bank. HSBC is the first foreign bank to join the initiative.
The partnership will now integrate HSBC into the blockchain network, allowing the bank to add new information to it or use existing information from other banks to enhance the customer database.
Abdulfattah Sharaf, Group General Manager, CEO of HSBC UAE and Head of International, HSBC Bank Middle East Limited, said in a press release:
“By being able to access up-to-date KYC data directly from Dubai Economy, we will be able to serve customers faster and focus more on their core banking needs.”
The British-owned bank has avoided public blockchains like Bitcoin and Ethereum in the past. Earlier this year, the bank stopped its customers from buying MicroStrategy stocks due to the exposure the company has to Bitcoin. More recently, the CEO of HSBC Neil Quinn said that the bank is not looking to promote cryptocurrencies because of their volatility and other risks involved.