Deloitte integrates blockchain for digital credentials

Big Four accountancy firm Deloitte has integrated blockchain technology to allow clients to store their verification credentials in a single digital wallet, in a bid to streamline its “typically inefficient” verification processes.

In a statement on May 4, Deloitte announced that it has integrated KILT blockchain technology – a Polkadot (DOT) parachain – to enable the issuance of reusable digital credentials to its clients. The integration aims to improve the efficiency of Deloitte’s Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Business (KYB) verification processes.

It noted that standard and “typically inefficient” processes for KYC and KYB certificates to be paper-based, as well as identity verification requests that require multiple data points when only one is needed, often create “extra work in the process.”

In addition, these traditional verification procedures store data and personal information across multiple platforms and databases, putting the privacy of consumers at risk.

The credentials will serve various use cases, including regulatory compliance for banking and decentralized finance (DeFi), age verification for e-commerce, private logins and fundraising.

While the wallet will be stored on the client’s device and remain under their control at all times, Deloitte retains the ability to change if circumstances change, as noted in the statement:

“Legitimation is digitally signed by Deloitte. Deloitte can revoke credentials using blockchain technology if the client’s circumstances have changed after the credentials were issued.”

It was added that no prior knowledge of blockchain is required from customers to set up the credential wallet.

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Ingo Rübe, founder of the KILT protocol said the streamlined identity solutions built on KILT allow customers to use verifiable digital credentials across multiple services while maintaining control “over when and where to share personal information.”

As a Polkadot parachain, it also provides “the scale and security needed by enterprise partners,” he added.

Polkadot tweeted shortly after the announcement on May 4, saying Deloitte’s leveraging of KILT’s solutions to support its KYC and KYB processes is critical to protecting against illegal activity.

This comes after it was reported on April 26 that there were over 300 crypto-related job opportunities available at Deloitte, at the time of writing, and almost all of them were posted in the same week.

Meanwhile, a search for crypto-related positions at the other Big Four accounting firms – Ernst & Young, KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers – turned up no results.

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