Emirates Islamic is to use a combination of QR codes and blockchain technology to bolster fraud prevention for old-fashioned paper cheques.
Termed ‘Cheque Chain’, Emirates Islamic will issue new cheque books carrying a unique QR code on every leaf, along with a string of 20 random characters.
The move follows an earlier pilot by parent group Emirates NBD, in which bank employees piloted the use of cheques with QR codes designed to make them harder to forge.
“Blockchain has the potential to significantly increase security and protection in banking transactions and we are delighted to be among the first in the UAE to utilise this new technology,” says Suhail Bin Tarraf, chief operating officer, Emirates Islamic. “We anticipate that Cheque Chain will dramatically reduce cheque frauds in this market helping us provide our customers greater peace of mind and security.”
In the next phase of the Cheque Chain project, says Bin Tarraf, the bank will have each cheque leaf registered on an inhouse blockchain platform enabling it to validate the authenticity of the cheque at source.