French 14 find firm favour in R3 blockchain trial
Enterprise blockchain software firm R3 has revealed that 14 French corporates completed a trial of the CordaKYC application built on the Corda blockchain platform and hosted on Microsoft Azure.
“This is a tough call, but it is clear: collaborate or be left behind”
Working with the Association Française des Tresoriers d’Enterprise (AFTE – French Association of Business Treasurers), a total of 26 firms participated in the regional trial.
This was not just limited to fintech, as the corporates come from various industries such as department stores, food processing, pharmaceuticals, insurers, investment managers and aerospace. They in turn worked with five French banks to test the CordaKYC solution.
Participants included AFTE, Allianz France Insurance Company, Alten, BNP Paribas, bioMérieux, Crédit Agricole, Daher, Danone, Engie, Natixis, Natixis Assurances, Natixis Investment Managers, Ostrum AM, Pierre et Vacances, RCI Bank and Services, and Societe Generale.
David E. Rutter, CEO of R3, says: “Existing know your customer (KYC) processes are often duplicative and time-consuming, and there has been increasing demand for blockchain-based KYC solutions. However, it is critical that we gather feedback and input from across a variety of participants. Corporates in particular have an important role to play in helping the industry evolve and adopt this technology for KYC.”
Ignacio Sánchez-Miret, chairman of AFTE Fintech Commission, adds: “The CorDapp trial achieved two goals: firstly to bridge the gap and demystify blockchain for corporates, and secondly to bring together banks, insurers and corporates to work together at the same level. We cannot stop here – the following weeks will be crucial to determine which applications will be launched together. This is a tough call, but it is clear: collaborate or be left behind.”
Using a Synechron prototype, R3 says corporates were able to simulate KYC requests amongst the group.
The banks could request access to KYC test data, and corporates had the ability to approve requests and revoke access.
Corporates were also able to update their test data which was then automatically updated for all participants with permission to access it.
