ATB Ventures, the innovation arm of the Alberta-based bank ATB Financial, is looking to extend the reach of its blockchain-based digital ID solution, Oliu, through a new partnership with Flinks.
The latter is a Toronto-based financial software company that has built an API for a network of bank connections. This network is key to the new partnership, as it will enable organizations using Oliu to verify their customers’ identities based on their existing Canadian bank accounts.
For example, an Oliu user would be able to open a bank account with a new bank by signing into a different bank account that they have already established. Thanks to Flinks, this will immediately authenticate the Oliu user—and the companies say that this process is cully compliant with Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) identity verification guidelines.
As ATB Ventures Head of Growth & Partnerships Azim Esmail explains, the collaboration “will deliver another leap forward in removing friction from customer onboarding and enhancing security using digital ID verification.” Esmail added that Oliu offers financial services organizations and firms in a range of other sectors “a powerful platform to mitigate fraudulent activities, and expedite account creation increasing customer retention and loyalty.”
The partnership could help to further solidify ATB Ventures’ position as an important player in Canada’s emerging digital ID ecosystem. In early 2022, the company joined a group of organizations working with the Government of Canada to develop a proof of concept for a digital ID system under the National Digital Trust Service. In that case, ATB Ventures brought to the table not only Oliu but also Proof, its digital wallet solution.
Work on such a program is ongoing, thanks in part to the complex nature of collaboration between Canada’s federal government and its various provinces.
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January 16, 2024 – by Alex Perala
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