South Korean Bank NH Launches Blockchain-powered Document Wallet

South Korean financial services provider Nonghyup (NH Bank) has begun issuing over a dozen forms of digital certificates using a blockchain-powered system and an e-wallet that will be able to hold hundreds of types of blockchain-verified forms of authentication.

Per the Electronic Times, the bank’s e-wallet gained official government approval earlier this month, and has today launched with support for an initial 13 forms of identification, including citizen and resident registration documentation.

The bank said that by next year, the e-wallet will provide support for “more than 300 types” of documentation.

The bank also claimed that its blockchain-powered system will allow customers to do away with paper-based document submission processes – instead allowing users to prove their identity online. The move is in line with Seoul’s recent push toward contact-free digital solutions that leverage industry 4.0 technology.

The wallet has launched as part of the NH smart banking offering, and allows customers to submit the sort of tax payment certificates and health insurance qualification certificates usually required to conduct financial transactions in digital form.

The bank added that customers could also use the wallet to access consultation for business-related matters, or register for bank services without having to go through “complicated document preparation protocols.”

And NH added that it planned to expand its blockchain-powered e-wallet’s infrastructure “within 2020” – claiming that “public institutions and other financial institutions” would also be able to accept the digital certificates as valid forms of authentication.
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