‘Know-Your-Customer’ key to driving blockchain adoption – Experts

Know-Your-Customers (KYC) have been identified as a catalyst for driving blockchain adoption in Africa.

Also, Web3 and blockchain-based companies were charged to boost transaction security and trust to accelerate mass adoption, reduce fraud, and drive system compliance.

This was the summary of discussions at the just concluded 6th edition of the Inside Identity webinar series organised by QoreID, a digital identity and consumer data analytics business, in partnership with TechCabal, an African tech media company.

Speakers included: Fejiro Hanu Agbodje, CEO, Patricia Technologies; Emmanuel Babalola, CEO, Bundle; Erikan Obotetukudo, CEO and General Partner, Audacity Fund and Jide Ogunjobi, VP, Products and Data Strategy, QoreID.

Speaking on the theme, Know-Your-Customer (KYC) as a Catalyst for DeFi and Web3 Adoption in Africa, Ogunjobi said: “Trust has been established as an enabling factor that helps to build critical mass across industries. Web3 and blockchain protocols are no exemptions. There has to be a mechanism in place to ensure accountability and trust in the platforms, the protocols, the transactions, and the recipient counterparts within the system. That is why we are calling for an increased focus on KYC to fortify and deepen the trust process.

Emphasizing on the need for innovation within the service delivery processes for web and blockchain transactions, he noted that beyond enabling trust, a robust KYC protocol has the propensity to drive compliance within decentralized networks.

Read also: Customer Trust is critical for Successful Payment Ecosystem – Flutterwave

Continuing, he said: “Just like other financial institutions, compliance is a critical factor within the Web3 and blockchain spaces. Operators and users have to abide by the rules of the geographical space within which the transactions are done whether it be trading, payments or transfers.

“That is where KYC comes in. For instance, at QoreID and VerifyMe, we have been able to deploy our solutions for a number of Web3 and blockchain companies, thereby providing them with insights on who and what their customers are. As leaders in Nigeria’s eKYC space, we continue to invest aggressively into solutions that will leverage KYC to drive growth and scalable opportunities for operators.”

In his submission, Agboje called for greater collaboration between ecosystem stakeholders, particularly across the regulator and operator divide. He believes this will address the call for sustainable regulation and safeguard the ecosystem without stifling innovation and hurting user confidence.

According to him: “The government and regulators need to ask some important questions. Ultimately, all stakeholders want the same thing: the ecosystem’s growth. So, while regulation exists to protect consumers and stimulate innovation, operators have first-hand knowledge of customers’ needs because they deal with them daily and understand their pain points. Operators should be carried along to offer meaningful insights towards developing sustainable regulation.”

Inside Identity is a quarterly thought leadership forum where identity stakeholders across Africa meet to discuss common issues of interest to advance the industry on the continent.