Inspiration
Being a part of the Banking and Finance industry for a few decades, we have always dreamed of building a secure, robust and cost-effective solution that brings value to our internal and external customers. Being a bank that always thrives on being better and is here for good, we always wanted to go the extra mile to deliver what it takes to be a customer-friendly bank.
What it does
Banks and most financial institutions invest a lot of money and time in managing the KYC process. As a successful bank, we need to maintain the customer data with integrity. In KYC Universe, we allow customers to create their profile, add necessary documents such as Identification and Verification documents, Tax documents, and many more. The information is stored securely on the Blockchain network allowing customers to provide access to other Banks and Financial Institutions to access this information based on the consent provided by the customers. The documents are uploaded to the IPFS, and the transaction (hash) is stored on the Solana Blockchain. The data stored on the Solana Blockchain are immutable and cannot be altered. With accelerated transactions per second and an improved consensus algorithm - proof of history, Solana makes it the best fit for our homegrown KYC Universe.
How we built it
We build Smart Contracts using Rust Programming language. We then deployed these programs on the Solana Cluster. We create an API using Typescript and Express JS to invoke the programs. We developed user interfaces using React JS and integrated them with the Services. The customers can create, amend and share their KYC profiles with other Banks and Financial institutions with a click of a button.
Challenges we ran into
First and foremost, we had to spend hours besides our day job to learn Rust programming language. We also learnt the best practices on how to build Smart Contracts. How are the files organized - We progressed from building a sample hello world program, an escrow program and a KYC program. We continually refined the learning process throughout our inspiring journey. We struggled in the initial stages to set up Solana Cluster, and we reached out to Matt from Solana to seek his help and guidance. With guidance from the CCIB Architecture Group, we made steady progress, and we continued to exchange knowledge, findings and helped each other throughout the process.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
We started believing that we could build the most robust software in the shortest time without compromising the quality. We could practice and continue to refine ourselves as Blockchain professionals. Besides, we identified roles and responsibilities among a three-member team and ensured that we supported each other to make a dream team.
What we learned
Building a Smart Contract program is different from developing an API in the Enterprise Application: memory management, state management, transaction isolation, PDAs have made our learning more enjoyable.
What's next for KYC Universe
Seek adoption and endorsements from our internal sponsors and stakeholders and refine this solution, and be the first bank to revolutionize the KYC process by leveraging the world-class services offered by Solana Blockchain.
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