New Entrepreneurs Based in Dubai Get Instant Bank Accounts

Dubai Economy has partnered with six UAE banks to launch a blockchain consortium allowing entrepreneurs and freelancers to open "Instand Bank Accounts." This "KYC (Know Your Customer) Blockchain Consortium" is composed of Emirates NBD, Emirates Islamic, HSBC, Rakbank, Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank and Commercial Bank of Dubai.

Authenticated and validated KYC data of companies will simultaneously be shared with financial institutions of their preference through the blockchain platform. This will accelerate the process of opening a bank account for newly registered companies and reduce the burdensome and costly requirements of managing KYC data for already registered companies.

"The platform will offer a digital 'Instant Bank Account' functionality, allowing for a faster and less cumbersome onboarding journey with banks and significantly improving the experience of new investors looking to establish themselves in the UAE,” said Ali Ibrahim, deputy director-general of Dubai Economy. “This in turn will boost customer satisfaction as well as ease of doing business in the UAE as a whole.”

According to Ibrahim, this will eventually become a nationwide ecosystem after piloting it with the six banks. Set to launch in the first quarter of 2020, the consortium will then be open for additional qualified financial institutions and licensing authorities to join paving way for the national adoption regulated by Smart Dubai and the UAE Central Bank.