IBM and Crédit Mutuel Arkéa pilot blockchain ID project
IBM and Crédit Mutuel Arkéa have completed their first blockchain project to “improve” the French bank’s ability to verify customer identity.
The result of the pilot is an operational permissioned blockchain network that provides a view of customer identity to enable compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements.
“Blockchain is a transformative agent in our operational application, as proven by this project — the first of its kind in France. This pilot offers a complete view of customers’ documents across our distributed network,” says Frédéric Laurent, COO innovation and operations, Crédit Mutuel Arkéa. “The project helped us to understand and master blockchain for other client uses. Now, we are ready to incorporate this technology in our ecosystem.”
Crédit Mutuel Arkéa says it has 3.6 million customers and expects to use the technology for “customer and advisors experiences”. Both firms are working to create a cross-business KYC platform for all of the banks processes, in order to reduce “unnecessary” duplication of information and requests.
Crédit Mutuel Arkéa comprises Crédit Mutuel Bretagne, Sud-Ouest and Massif Central federations and some 20 specialised subsidiaries. It has nearly 9,000 employees, 3,700 directors and €110 billion in total assets.
Big Blue blockchain
Recently, IBM’s interest in blockchain has intensified.
It opened a new Bluemix Garage in New York, to offer the city’s developers, entrepreneurs, and fintech firms the use of blockchain on the cloud.
IBM also launched a new framework for “securely” operating blockchain networks, as well as new services on the IBM Cloud that are designed to meet existing regulatory and security requirements.
