Philippine Banks to Collaborate Using Blockchain

When you open a bank account, the bank rep will probably tell you a list of requirements that must be submitted. After some minutes (or maybe days, even weeks in some banks), your bank account is officially open.

The Identity Re-Verification Cycle

What if you want to open another bank account in another bank. Maybe you want your savings in Security Bank, but you also want an account with BPI because you can do a lot of things with it, from paying your Bill or integrating it with Coins.ph.

For sure, the BPI teller will ask you to submit a number of requirements again. The process will be the same every time you talk to a bank or an e-money issuer, such as Paymaya. Surely, there’s a way to simplify this? What if you submit identification documents to one bank, but at the same time, make it available for viewing and verification by other banks? One ID process for all banks, and possible all financial institutions.

Digital Identification

The Bankers Association of the Philippines (BAP) partners with Amihan Global Strategies to improve the Philippines’ digital ID technology. The main aim is to change the way the banking industry do its validation system.

BAP President Nestor Tan said the association has crafted a roadmap to ensure that clients can get banking services delivered to them in a faster and convenient way. The roadmap has the support of the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, Tan said.

This improved ID tech will have the following logic:

• The individual shares pieces of personal information to recipients they choose.
• The personal information can be uploaded through mobile phones by the individual through the bank.
• When the personal information is verified by the bank, the individual can open a new bank account
• The individual can also access banking services of other financial institutions without re-uploading the personal information because it is already there.

The system will use blockchain technology, which can keep a record of transactions that no one can tamper.

Why is this useful?

I can see this becoming very useful with banks and a connected e-money issuer that is non-bank, such as Paymaya or Coins.ph. (Read: Coins.ph gets license as e-money issuer). We have already verified ourselves with a bank. The non-bank can then look at the information on the blockchain to re-verify the individual, without the need for the individual to submit requirements again.

Who are participating?

This project is still in development but a number of banks have signed on already. Among them are Metrobank, Union Bank, East West, BPI, BDO, and Asia United Bank.

Sources: Malaya, Amihan, BAP