Five Canadian banks turn to blockchain for identity verification

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Blockchain technology is very well suited for use in identity verification, and it appears as though that some prominent Canadian banks are keen to that idea. Five of the biggest Canadian banks now allow users to digitally verify their identity through blockchain.

The five banks are as follows: Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce (CIBC), Royal Bank of Canada (RBC), Scotiabank, Toronto-Dominion (TD) Bank and Desjardins Group. All five banks have partnered with an app called Verified.me, which is backed by Toronto blockchain startup SecureKey to offer safe and secure identity verification. According to a press release, additional financial institutions – such as National Bank of Canada, and Bank of Montreal (BMO), have signed on as well.

The founder and CEO of Securekey, Greg Wolfond, spoke about the ever-increasing issues with cybersecurity when announcing the developments. Wolfond said:

“Verfied.me simplifies the sharing of personal information to help with identity verification in a safe way” and described protecting our digital identity as “‘one of the most enduring challenges of our time.”

Verified.me aims to empower individuals with control over their digital identity, by not only protecting personal information, but also allow individuals to control who to share their information with, and when. It is built on top of IBM blockchain technology. Customers download the mobile app, and it allows encrypted information to be shared without any actual information actually being stored within the Verified.me app. The idea is to allow users to safely and securely verify their identity from their smartphone to access various services.

The app works because of a network built between various companies and organizations, including telecommunications agencies, financial institutions, and credit agencies. Wolfond wants his company to help allow individuals to access sensitive information in a verifiable and convenient manner. He adds: “They’re going to be able to share their data in a secure and trusted way, which they never really could before.”