NEM in BIBSummit

The BIBSummit or Blockchain in Islamic Banking Summit was held last February 22, 2018 in The Address Dubai Mall. Representing NEM during the event, CEO and Co-Founder of Bankorus Gregory Van den Bergh talked about the advantage of blockchain in Islamic Banking. Shariah compliance is one of the most talked about topic during the summit and Greg suggested that using blockchain can tremendously decrease the time and cost it takes for verifying Shariah compliance. Bankorus is the world’s first private wealth management platform powered by AI and built on the blockchain.

In one of the sessions of the event a panel had a discussion regarding the emerging opportunities for blockchain in Islamic Banking. NEM Regional Director for South East Asia Stephen Chia was a member of that panel and shared that blockchain technology, particularly the NEM blockchain can be merged with existing business logic/model to bring solutions to “pain” areas that they have trouble with.

All throughout the event, it was continuously mentioned that blockchain can become a disruptive technology and that if studied and adopted carefully, it can be a great advantage to any industry. Islamic banking is no different, regulators should one day come together and discuss how to merge blockchain with existing banking procedures and policies. This can mark a new era for blockchain and banking that leads to greater opportunities for both industries.

Aside from these, the team also caught up with their mid-east partners and discussed how to proceed with each of their projects. Two exciting projects coming from the region are to watch out for. One company based in Bahrain and another one based in Saudi Arabia are both having projects being developed under NEM blockchain.