Blockchain-based ID verification system ‘Verified.Me’ goes live with five Canadian banks

A blockchain-based digital identity and attribute sharing network has gone live with five Canadian financial institutions – CIBC, Desjardins, RBC, Scotiabank and TD.

Developed by SecureKey, Verified.Me will make it easy to share personal information, thereby helping with identity verification in a secure manner. Consumers will be able to quickly and securely share information with participating service providers, while enabling businesses will be able to achieve more streamlined, effective and cost-efficient client services and onboarding.

Canadian customers and members of these five banks can now use Verified.Me to verify their identities online with the services they need in a privacy-enhanced and secure way. They can verify their identity quickly and securely from any iOS or Android smartphone, using personal information that they consent to share from their connections, such as their financial institution.

Customers will always stay in control by choosing when to share their information and with whom.

“This announcement marks the first time that consumers are officially able to access the Verified.Me application and gain greater control over their digital identities,” said Greg Wolfond, Founder and CEO, SecureKey Technologies.

Verified.Me is built on top of the IBM Blockchain Platform which is based on Linux Foundation’s open source Hyperledger Fabric v1.2, and will be interoperable with Hyperledger Indy projects.

According to the press release, in addition to the Canadian financial institutions, a number of digital identity network participants and innovation partners have helped to bring Verified.Me to market, including the Digital ID and Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC), the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), Global Privacy and Security by Design, EnStream, Equifax, IBM and Prodigy Labs.

BMO Bank of Montreal and National Bank of Canada are also going to launch the service soon for their customers. Sun Life Financial has signed on as an early adopter and the first North American insurer on the service.