Etihad Credit Insurance joins the KYC Blockchain Platform

Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 3 February 2025 — Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI) , the UAE Federal export credit company, joined the KYC Blockchain Platform, marking a first for the insurance sector. Led by the Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET), the initiative aims to improve ease of doing business, company KYC compliance, and customer data quality and enable the KYC network’s future growth by leveraging it as a reliable customer data ecosystem.

Her Excellency Raja Al Mazrouei , CEO at ECI, said, “We are pleased to be the first export credit agency to join the UAE’s KYC platform, which marks a remarkable milestone for us. This step enables the ecosystem to quickly improve the verification process of consumer identities and build unified procedures by leveraging blockchain technology. At ECI, we are committed to using state-of-the-art technologies in partnership with relevant stakeholders to increase operational efficiency, optimise services and accelerate processes. We believe that this move would help streamline the process of delivering our services and solutions, as well as support and enable a larger group of businesses engaged in UAE export and re-export operations to both regional and international markets.”

Ahmad AlQaizi AlFalasi , CEO of DBLC at DET, said, “We are pleased to welcome ECI as the first insurance sector entity to join the KYC Blockchain Platform. This milestone highlights ECI’s commitment to improving ease of doing business and enhancing KYC compliance standards. DET is dedicated to providing alternative channels for seamless company KYC data sharing and validation, with this initiative being a key example. By easing access to banking, financial, and insurance services, the platform fosters regulatory collaboration while ensuring robust KYC compliance. ECI’s participation underscores the growing momentum of this initiative, and we look forward to further strengthening Dubai’s position as a global trusted business hub.”

"This step enables the ecosystem to quickly improve the verification process of consumer identities and build unified procedures by leveraging blockchain technology."

Astyanax Kanakakis , CEO and Co-Founder of norbloc, elaborated, “The KYC Blockchain Platform establishes a single version of truth per customer profile, enhancing data quality, boosting transparency, while improving institutions’ efforts to combat financial crimes, streamlining data exchange and encouraging cooperation. Furthermore, the continuous expansion of platform members in the country aligns with the UAE’s strategy for digital transformation and is an integral component to stimulating economic growth and reinforcing the UAE’s leading position as a global financial hub and a primary investment destination.”

The platform uses norbloc’s Fides solution to improve customer experiences by leveraging innovative blockchain technology to offer access to accurate and reliable information for banks and other financial institutions. Joining the platform ensures an expedited account opening process, streamlined financial and digital services, seamless consent-driven customer data transfer, and confidentiality of customer data.

"ECI’s participation underscores the growing momentum of this initiative, and we look forward to further strengthening Dubai’s position as a global trusted business hub.”

With the goal of facilitating efficient data exchange in the emirate, the KYC Blockchain Platform launched in 2020 with a group of founding member banks: Emirates NBD (ENBD), Commercial Bank of Dubai (CBD), Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank (ADCB). Since then, the network has expanded to include several more well-renowned entities, such as First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) (FAB), ADIB - Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank , Al Masraf , DIFC , and Ras Al Khaimah Economic Zone (RAKEZ) .

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About Etihad Credit Insurance (ECI)

Etihad Credit Insurance, UAE’s federal export credit company, offers businesses, financial institutions and investors innovative solutions that catalyse and consolidate international trade. The company provides a wide range of solutions and products such as export credit insurance, risk mitigation insurance, comprehensive market intelligence, export strategy and access to finance. Established in 2018, ECI has a Fitch Rating of ‘AA-’ and is a member of the widely acclaimed Berne Union and an affiliate member of the UN Environment Programme – Finance Initiative’s NZECA.

ECI is dedicated to fostering sustainability and non-oil trade to support the resilience and diversification of the UAE economy, while empowering businesses to conduct seamless global trade by providing robust credit solutions and expert market insights. Guided by the core organisational values of protection, customer-centricity, integrity, collaboration, global competitiveness, innovation, and sustainability, ECI remains committed to ensuring client success.

Visit: www.eci.gov.ae/

About Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET)

With the ultimate vision of making Dubai the world’s leading commercial centre, investment hub and tourism destination, Dubai Department of Economy and Tourism (DET) is mandated to support the Government in positioning the emirate as a major hub for global economy and tourism, and in boosting the city’s economic and tourism competitiveness indicators, in line with the goals of the Dubai Economic Agenda, D33, which aims to double the size of the emirate’s economy and consolidate its position among the top three global cities over the next decade. Under this remit, DET is driving efforts to further enhance Dubai’s diversified, innovative service-based economy to attract top global talent, deliver a world-class business environment and accelerate productivity growth. Additionally, DET is supporting Dubai’s vision to become the world’s best city to visit, live and work in by promoting its diverse destination proposition, unique lifestyle and outstanding quality of life, overall. DET is the principal authority for planning, supervising, developing and marketing Dubai’s business and tourism sectors. It is also responsible for licensing and classifying all types of businesses, including hotels, tour operators and travel agents. DET’s portfolio includes Dubai Economic Development Corporation (DEDC), Dubai Business Registration and Licensing Corporation (DBLC), Dubai Corporation for Consumer Protection and Fair Trade (DCCPFT), Dubai SME, Dubai Corporation for Tourism and Commerce Marketing (DCTCM), Dubai Festivals and Retail Establishment (DFRE) and Dubai College of Tourism (DCT).

Visit: https://www.dubaidet.ae

About norbloc

norbloc is the first and only company globally to successfully implement a KYC utility at scale, transforming the way compliance challenges are tackled today. Headquartered in Stockholm, Sweden, norbloc builds blockchain KYC platforms that enable individuals, institutions and regulators to effectively manage, verify and securely share KYC data. The diverse team behind norbloc holds significant experience in blockchain technology development and financial services. Financial institutions, governments and licensing authorities across the globe trust norbloc technology to enhance customer onboarding, increase data security and mitigate systemic risk.

Visit: www.norbloc.com