Polish banking giant PKO launches full implementation of Coinfirm’s blockchain-based documentation verification platform Trudatum

PKO BP, the largest bank in Central and Eastern Europe, today begins full implementation of blockchain-based document verification platform, Trudatum, which is built by London-based Coinfirm.

The agreement, signed today, is a milestone for the utilisation of blockchain technology, with a implementation of this breadth a first-of-its-kind across financial services worldwide.

It is a natural next step in the Coinfirm and PKO Bank Polski partnership. Following a successful pilot with the bank, Coinfirm’s solution, Trudatum, will be used to handle tens of millions of documents a year.

A blueprint for the global financial world

This full implementation of Trudatum, which will support millions of documents created by the bank annually, makes PKO BP a global pioneer in blockchain technology adoption.

Those involved in the partnership hope it will serve as a global blueprint for banks, other financial services and insurance companies, corporates and SMEs, demonstrating how to resolve the problem of data registration and verification. The PKO BP implementation show that the solution developed by Coinfirm is safe for sectors which have, to date, been sceptical about using blockchain technology, owing to high security and regulatory requirements.

The impact of Trudatum

Trudatum has been piloted by PKO BP for over a year, as the result of the “Let’s Fintech” accelerator programme, and alongside a number of other successful Coinfirm pilots with clients across Western Europe, the United States and Japan.

The first stage of implementing Trudatum across the bank will focus on integrating it with PKO’s current systems and providing a solution which makes it possible to verify the authenticity of various bank documents.

Every document recorded in the blockchain (e.g. proof of a transaction, or bank’s terms and conditions for a given product) will be issued in the form of irreversible abbreviation (“hash”) signed with the bank’s private key. This will allow a client to verify remotely if the files he received from a business partner or from the bank are true, or if a modification of the document was attempted.

Thanks to Coinfirm’s solution, PKO BP can now provide more efficient supervision of transaction history and data verification, which will be beneficial both in terms of time savings and costs of managing these processes. Trudatum is not only a solution for the challenges above, but it also permits cryptographic security for digital signatures. It enables confidence in digital data, files and documents, meaning businessmen and entrepreneurs can reduce costs and risk, as well as enhancing protection security.

Commenting on the news, Jakub Fijołek, CTO and Co-founder of Coinfirm, says:

“The impact of our technology can be described pretty simply: it fills the gap between innovation and the need for security which lies at the foundations of every serious global organisation. Implementation of Trudatum by one of the largest financial companies in Central and Eastern Europe brings huge satisfaction to us, and is a milestone for the market.

“Coinfirm is just two years old, but we are already providing bank-grade compliance to blockchain and crypto companies around the world. We make it possible for firms to use blockchain technology without having to worry about security or navigating evolving regulations.”

Paweł Kuskowski, CEO and Co-Founder of Coinfirm, adds:

“Polish banks, who are already very innovative, continue to push the boundaries and pioneer applications of new technologies such as blockchain. This partnership, with one of the biggest financial institutions in Europe, is a gamechanger for the global market. We’re sure that, in the coming years, financial institutions all over the world will be looking up to PKO BP and learning how to successfully apply blockchain. First, it demonstrates that big players are ready for blockchain implementations, and that there are a number of very significant use cases which are adding huge value not only to the bank, but also to its customers. Second, it overturns the myth of banks’ restraint with regard to blockchain innovations.

“Polish institutions have moved deftly when it comes to testing, and now implementing, blockchain solutions that provide greater efficiency and security. Financial innovation hubs like London run the risk of being left behind when it comes to crypto.”

Grzegorz Pawlicki, Director of PKO Bank Polski’s Innovation Bureau, says:

“Blockchain technology can revolutionise the financial industry, which is why we pay so much attention to it. We want to understand it well and use it as widely as possible. Blockchain meets the key requirements for durable media, guaranteeing confidentiality and integrity of the documents delivered to clients, which additionally increases the attractiveness of this technology for the banks.”