Five Canadian banks will use the blockchain-based user identification system developed by the startup SecureKey Technologies, reports Bloomberg on May 1.
According to the report, Verified.Me digital identification system is now available to Royal Bank of Canada, Bank of Toronto-Dominion, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Desjardins group. Soon, the service will also be available to users of the services provided by the Bank of Montreal and the National Bank of Canada, and Sun Life Financial is said to be the first North American insurer to use this system.
Bloomberg quotes SecureKey CEO Greg Wolfon, who says he expects consumers to use this service to confirm their identity to access and open bank accounts, as well as public services by the end of 2019.
He also noted:
"They will be able to share their data in a safe and secure way, which they could never have done before."
The approval of this new identification system is reportedly part of the transition to open banking – allowing consumers to share their financial data with other companies – at the request of the Canadian Bankers Association.
As reported last month, the leading media corporation Thomson Reuters received a patent for a blockchain-based identification management system.
