ShareRing on Friday announced a pilot programme to digitize the KYC (Know Your Customer) process for financial institutions based in the Caribbean region.

The pilot which began on June 1, 2021, is part of ShareRing’s long term commitment to the region as they roll out their blockchain based identity and verifiable credentials ecosystem across a number of industries including health, events, financial services and travel. The ShareRing Caribbean team leading the project have over 20 years experience in the technology and financial sectors.

This digital ‘eKYC’ pilot will enable credit unions, insurance companies and other financial institutions to receive their customers ID and supporting documents in an encrypted digital format through their mobile device. The solution will eliminate much of the time-consuming aspects of account sign-up processes while still ensuring the institutions operate within the regulatory framework.

ShareRing’s scope includes exploring the potential for credit approvals and identity verification checks from one financial institution to be made available to other similar institutions or third parties.

In a quote from the President of the Barbados Teacher’s Co-operative Credit Union Limited, Sherry-Ann Scott-King stated, “We are metamorphosing our structure to embrace technological advances, and the use of blockchain technology is the solution to our KYC needs. Partnering with companies such as ShareRing reiterates this, and we’re excited to see the fruits of the project both for our members and the credit union, while ensuring we remain compliant with regulatory requirements.”

The key benefit for the credit union’s customer is having a streamlined digital process without compromising their data security. Using ShareRing’s encrypted ID technology, with its self sovereign and privacy-by-design features, means the customers remain in full control of their private and sensitive data.

“We’re very proud to deploy some of ShareRing’s core functionality to financial organizations in the Caribbean region. We are able to provide blockchain based eKYC solutions which facilitate heightened levels of security and trust between financial institutions and their customers” said Tim Bos, CEO and Founder of ShareRing.