South Korean Banking Group to Launch Blockchain-Powered ID Verification Platform

A group of South Korean commercial banks will launch a blockchain-powered customer ID verification platform in July 2018, local news outlet Korea JoongAng Daily reports today, June 12.

According the report, the Korea Federation of Banks (KFB) will launch their “BankSign” identity verification system to be used in both online computer-based and mobile banking.  According to Korea JoongAng Daily, the move is intended to replace the 20-year old public verification system that is reportedly notorious for its complexity and inefficiency.

Park Chang-ok, a manager at the department of deposit services and payment systems at KFB, explained that banks’ new blockchain application would offer a range of options to verify clients IDs, “not just the public certification system.”

According the report, development of the BankSign initiative was started immediately after the KFB launched a consortium exploring blockchain applications opportunities at the local banking sector in November 2017.

The BankSign platform is based on Nexledger, a private enterprise transaction management tool developed by Samsung’s subsidiary, Samsung SDS.

Last week, Samsung SDS announced the launch of its own enterprise blockchain platform Nexfinance aimed at finance-related businesses.