ShareRing Financial Services: eKYC Enhancements

ShareRing’s Financial Services arm now features enhanced eKYC capabilities to improve the customer (the ‘user’) and institution (the ‘teller’) journeys. These enhancements were made in order to improve the overall efficiency of the eKYC process and to encourage greater communication between the two parties involved in the eKYC process, both of which contribute towards ShareRing’s long-term mission in providing frictionless access to goods and services.

Previously, if no government ID was provided during the initial ShareRing ID onboarding process, the customer would be taken to their ShareRing Vault to upload their ID and then taken back to the home screen after successfully uploading the document. However, this meant that the user would have to start the eKYC process all over again.

Now, users are now able to complete the eKYC process in fewer steps than before by uploading their government ID in the eKYC onboarding process (rather than being redirected to the Vault and then having to restart their eKYC application). Users will also be able to save a document after taking a picture of one page, or they can continue to ‘add one more page’ if the document is more than one page. The user can then name the document, select document type, and state the date of issuance. This offers more convenience to the user so that they are able to upload their documents with less steps and time, in addition to a greater degree of personalization when it comes to organizing the documents within their ShareRing Vault.

Documents used for the user’s eKYC application should be the most recent versions available. If there is a document with an expiry date that has already passed, the user will be notified of this in eKYC and in their Vault, and they will then have the option to remove these expired documents from their Vault. 

Another feature of this eKYC enhancement allows the user to print from their mobile device when they are viewing a document, thus removing the friction of having to keep a physical copy of – or having the – genuine document on hand, and then scanning and printing the document. 

ShareRing’s eKYC customers will also be able to receive notifications of messages that are sent by the institution’s teller who approves or rejects the application, allowing the user to stay up-to-date on their applications in real time. On the institution’s side, the teller is able to see a list of notifications every hour showing the list of pending applications. This not only provides greater convenience to the teller and institution, but also to eKYC customers, as this will cut down on processing times (compared to the traditional KYC process). The institution will also able to operate within the regulatory framework, given that all necessary steps have been set up within the eKYC process.

ShareRing’s new and improved eKYC journey ensures that customers and tellers alike will spend much less time on back-and-forth, This process also cuts down on the time previously spent on back-and-forth between the customer and the teller in the traditional KYC process.

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Where will this feature be launched first, and why? 

ShareRing’s eKYC capabilities will be launched and applied first with the Teachers Credit Union (TCU) in the Caribbean. This partnership was first announced in June of 2021, when the pilot program was launched to navigate and discover specific financial services areas that would benefit most from blockchain technology. The foundation of the Credit Union philosophy is people helping people, which goes hand in hand with ShareRing’s mission of providing frictionless access to goods and services in today’s phygital world. 

In June, 2021, several islands of the Caribbean (for example, Jamaica, Barbados, The Bahamas, and Trinidad and Tobago) announced that they would be launching national government-issued digital identification (DID) cards for their citizens. Not only would digital identification provide a more credible framework for citizens and residents and the government alike, but it would also be a useful tool for law enforcement agencies when it comes to solving crime, which is notably high particularly in the Caribbean.

However, the main concerns that arose following the announcement and launch of these eIDs include security and data protection, in addition to rising concerns of technological innovation in the Caribbean when compared to the rest of the world.

To answer these questions: ShareRing’s ID technology is both encrypted and self sovereign, which means the credit union’s customers will be able to trust that they have full control over their private data. 

Furthermore, ShareRing’s newly-launched eKYC procedure includes elimination of much of the time-consuming aspects of account sign-up processes and provides better transparency of the application process. An improved and digitized KYC process could contribute to greater growth opportunities towards the efficiency of doing business, shifting to a digital economy, and delivering social benefits in the Caribbean. All of these factors could ensure greater macroeconomic stability, and improved credit information access and credit competition, thus resulting in a stronger financial industry within the Caribbean.

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