Bangkok-based technological solutions company AI & Robotics Ventures Company Limited (ARV) has announced plans to launch a blockchain-based National Digital Corporate Identity (NCID) platform developed in collaboration with IBM. The first-of-its-kind digital corporate identity system in ASEAN incorporates Thailand's Electronic Transaction Development Agency standards of self-sovereign identity on a public blockchain and secure cryptographic key encryption.
The introduction of the platform is aimed at reducing the time it takes for corporate onboarding at banks by bringing improvements to the identity verification of corporate authorized signatories. The swifter and leaner process will offer more opportunities for banks and corporates to engage in opportunities that otherwise would have been discouraged due to existing KYC processes.
Photo Credit: AI and Robotics Ventures
"In collaboration with IBM, this secured platform will unlock new digital banking opportunities between corporates and banks," said Sinthu Satawiriya, Head of Ventures at AI and Robotics Ventures. “We believe that the platform and its system will revolutionize the access to digital finance for the entire juristic community across Thailand's financial and business ecosystem in the near future, in alignment with the Smart Financial Infrastructure effort and ecosystem currently led by the Ministry of Finance and Bank of Thailand."
The system will go live on the ASEAN's first-of-its-kind joint sandbox set up by the Electronic Transaction Development Agency and the Bank of Thailand in early 2022 and will be first used by PTTEP and its banking partners for corporate KYC for treasury and bank accounts.
"This blockchain-based digital ID platform will bring transformational impact, as not only does it speed up processing time markedly, but also will lead to the standardization of corporate identity verification process for banks in Thailand and support the journey towards comprehensive digital infrastructure of our country," said Sawat Asdaron, Managing Director of IBM Thailand and Managing Partner of IBM Consulting.