The First Bank in Korea to Offer DID Service
Shinhan Bank announced on Aug. 26 that it has introduced blockchain-based decentralized ID (DID) to its banking application "Shinhan SOL."
DID is a blockchain technology that allows users to encrypt and store their identity information on smartphones and present it when necessary. Shinhan Bank has succeeded in commercializing a DID service for the first time in the financial sector by collaborating with Iconloop, a blockchain company that operates MyID. The Financial Services Commission already designated it as an innovative financial service in 2019 in recognition of its technological prowess.
The biggest advantage of the DID service is that it can prevent damage from fake ID card use 100 percent as it encrypts identity information. Whether identity information is falsified or not is checked by blockchains. Currently, DID can only be used to change the bank's login means, but it will also be applied to other financial transactions that require additional identification such as issuing mobile one-time passwords (OTPs), changing passwords, and the know your customer (KYC) function.
"DID solutions will be an entry point for a digital ID ecosystem that will spread in the future,” said Jang Hyun-ki, head of Shinhan Bank's Digital R&D Center. “We will be able to develop DID solutions into platforms that can manage and trade data."
Shinhan Bank expects the DID service to greatly simplify its customer service. The actual DID service will eliminate the identification and authentication required for untact financial transactions. In particular, a Shinhan Bank customer will be able to use services of other financial companies without additionally proving their identities. Under guidelines of the Financial Real Name Act, when a user’s real name is verified by Shinhan Bank, other financial companies have only to check the user’s fingerprint.