A South Korean commercial banks group will initiate a blockchain-powered customer ID verification platform in July 2018, as per the reports on June 12.
Reportedly, the Korea Federation of Banks (KFB) will launch their “BankSign” identity verification system for use in both online computer-based and mobile banking.
According to the report, the KFB started developing the BankSign plan immediately after launching a consortium to explore blockchain application opportunities in the local banking sector in November 2017.
Note that the BankSign platform builds on Nexledger, a private enterprise transaction management tool developed by Samsung’s subsidiary, Samsung SDS. Samsung SDS launched in April 2017 alongside Design, a biometric authentication solution that allows customers to access many services using a single ID authentication. While this solution does not link directly to KFB’s BankSign, Samsung previously tested its Nexledger blockchain with Samsung Card, the conglomerate’s credit card company, as early as October 2016.
Last week, Samsung SDS announced the launch of its own enterprise blockchain platform Nexfinance aimed at finance-related businesses.
According to reports, the move will transform the 20-year-old public verification system, which people have long considered complicated and inefficient.
The banks’ new blockchain application would offer a variety of options to confirm clients IDs and “not just the public certification system”, said Park Chang-ok, a manager at the department of deposit services and payment systems at KFB.