GM Financial teams up with blockchain startup Spring Labs

General Motors Financial Company, the financial services arm of General Motors, has entered into a partnership with blockchain startup Spring Labs.

Founded in 2017, Spring Labs raised $14.75 million in seed funding in March 2018. It is developing Spring Protocol, a blockchain-based network that will allow network participants to exchange valuable information without sharing underlying source data.

Spring Labs explains that the Spring Protocol will mitigate the need for data aggregators and allow network participants to exchange information securely and anonymously in a peer-to-peer (p2p) manner.

GM Financial will join the Spring Founding Industry Partners (SFIP) Program to collaborate with other financial institutions, data furnishers and technology partners on research, development and implementation of Spring Protocol ahead of its public launch.

According to the official release, the SFIP Program will help drive improved data management standards to help address critical auto finance industry issues like identity verification and synthetic identity fraud. Program participants include Avant, Funding Circle, Fundation, Fundbox and others.

“As the captive finance arm for General Motors and one of the world’s largest auto finance providers, we are continually innovating and evolving our fraud prevention and detection capabilities to better serve and protect our customers and dealers,” said Mike Kanarios, Chief Strategy Officer at GM Financial.

“Today’s announcement underscores our commitment and investment to advance these efforts, and we are pleased to collaborate with Spring Labs as a member of the SFIP program.”