Belgium-based Fintech platform “B-Hive” launches blockchain-powered platform “Trust-Hive”

Tuesday June 27, 2017 - Money20/20 Europe, COPENHAGEN, DENMARK: B-Hive, a European enabler of innovative collaboration for fintech startups and established financial service organizations, announces that financial institutions AG Insurance, Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, Degroof Petercam, Euroclear, KBC and SWIFT are working together on the creation of a blockchain-powered platform to simplify customer on-boarding for individuals and legal entities.

Today, legal entities (and, to a lesser degree, individuals) are confronted with lengthy, and often paper-based, non-standardized on-boarding processes. Furthermore, customers do not always have a clear view on how their identity data is managed further on after the on-boarding process.

The new platform “Trust-Hive” – in collaboration with other initiatives such as “Itsme” – will provide individuals and legal entities with a single connection point to manage their identity data. In line with the requirements of the European General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), customers will be able to control how and until when their identity data is shared with each organization they trust through a user-friendly interface. Likewise, corporates will be able to process significant statutory changes through a single contact point.

The platform will enable financial institutions and other participating organizations to benefit from identity verification done by other connected organizations, with customer consent, thereby enabling substantial operational cost reductions compared to existing processing.

The group of financial institutions (AG Insurance, Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, Degroof Petercam, Euroclear, KBC and SWIFT) started working on the initiative last year and, if the proof-of-concept is successful, B-Hive intends to initiate a phased launch in 2018, ultimately eyeing a pan-European rollout.

Commenting on the initiative:

Alexander De Croo, deputy prime minister and minister of Development, Cooperation, Digital Agenda, Telecom and Postal Services: “The Belgian government welcomes and supports this initiative, which enables selective control of digital identity for individuals and legal entities. The recent launch of the Belgian Mobile ID (which enables citizens to have one secure digital login for registering, doing transactions or signing documents) is another example of how committed we are in becoming a frontrunner in the digital landscape in Europe. ”

Johan Van Overtveldt, Belgium’s minister of finance: “This initiative further underlines the vibrant innovative culture of our financial community in Brussels as a gateway to the rest of Europe, taking advantage of its presence close to the decision-making centers of Europe. Earlier this year, we created B-Hive as a platform for collaboration between pioneering fintech startups, major financial infrastructure players and financial institutions. B-Hive is establishing offices in London, Tel Aviv, New York and Singapore to build bridges to other fintech hubs, giving it an undisputable international reach. It is the result of a recommendation of the high-level expert group of the financial sector which I put in place in 2015. Therefore, I welcome this latest project and offer it my full support."

Johan Thijs, chairman of Febelfin, the Belgian Financial Sector Federation, and CEO of KBC Group: “Digitization and useful applications of blockchain technology are on top of our agenda. We are proud to launch this joint initiative in the Belgian market."