ADGM heads e-KYC utility project in UAE
The Financial Services Regulatory Authority (FSRA) of Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) has started the development of an electronic know your customer (e-KYC) utility with financial institutions in the UAE
This initiative follows the first regional regulators’ roundtable for MENA regulators hosted by ADGM in October 2017 and forms part of an inclusive programme of ADGM’s institutional-focused projects for 2018.
The consortium, comprising Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank, Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank, Al Ansari Exchange, Al Fardan Exchange, First Abu Dhabi Bank, UAE Exchange and ADGM, will develop a proof of concept to decide the governance framework and the functional requirements of the e-KYC utility. Distributed ledger technologies (DLT) are being considered to underpin core functionality within the platform.
Richard Teng, CEO of the FSRA of ADGM, says banks and financial institutions are “seeking more ways to meet KYC and anti-money laundering (AML) requirements and standards” and with the “increased deployment of technology, such as blockchain for KYC and the efficient management of digital identities, greater efficiency and cost-effectiveness can be achieved”.
By the way, in a recent analysis piece by our sister site Finovate; growth, wealth and modernisation were seen as the drivers of fintech innovation in the MENA region.
