Alhamrani universal ATM provider partners Blockchain Identity platform

Alhamrani universal ATM provider partners Blockchain Identity platform

Alhamrani Universal ATM provider which operates largely in Saudi Arabia has collaborated with blockchain identity platform ShoCard to develop a blockchain-based biometric ATM.

The collaboration will see AU and ShoCard create a new type of an ATM combining blockchain technology and biometrics as part of a five-factor authentication process. The ATM will reportedly allow customers to use a blockchain-based app and facial recognition instead of personal identification numbers to withdraw funds.

These ATMs will be able to communicate across banks in the region, while the deployment of blockchain technology will allow it to confirm users’ identities without the need to access bank databases.

Founder and CEO of ShoCard, Armin Ebrahimi, said that blockchain “protect[s] individuals’ identity while confirming the information that banks need to verify that a withdrawal is legitimate.”

Alhamrani Universal is reportedly the largest ATM provider in the Middle East, having an over 50 percent of the ATM market share in Saudi Arabia. It was founded in 1981.

Blockchain is really booming as the technology still has a long way to go. I am sure of many countries adopting this blockchain technology in no distant time.

In November 2018, American software corporation Microsoft released a serverless blockchain-powered Azure development kit, which contains features like off-chain identity and data, monitoring, and messaging application programming interfaces (API) in a format that can be used to develop blockchain-based apps.