IBM to help in digital transformation of economy
The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) will cooperate with IBM in the blockchain technology, Director of the Information Technology Department of the CBA Farid Osmanov said at the Azerbaijan-Germany Business Forum on Energy and ICT in Baku on October 9.
The Central Bank of Azerbaijan (CBA) will cooperate with IBM in the blockchain technology, Director of the Information Technology Department of the CBA Farid Osmanov said at the Azerbaijan-Germany Business Forum on Energy and ICT in Baku on October 9.
Osmanov said that the program is fairly large and will be implemented in two directions.
"The first direction corresponds to the plans for digital transformation. This initiative will be implemented within a five-year plan, which aims to meet the requirements and needs of the country's economy and banking sector."
"The second direction is the development of a digital identification system. We are working together on this with about 10 commercial banks and 15 government agencies," Osmanov said.
Presently, as Osmanov noted, the Central Bank is working on an application that allows commercial banks to collect, store and analyze information, and this is the direction that the Central Bank will pay special attention to.
"The use of blockchain technology is stipulated in the state program for non-cash payments. Currently, a technical justification is being prepared for the use of the blockchain platform. The main goal for commercial banks is to work with their customers and provide them with timely access to the services provided,” Osmanov said.
At present those who wish to open an account in a bank need to visit the bank’s office, which takes time, he said.
“We worked with FIMSA in this direction and the result was to ensure prompt opening of an account. After receiving permission, commercial banks get access to this information through the state portal and an account is opened for a few seconds. Also, the advantage is that bank customers can receive credits at the expense of available information. From this point of view, as well as from the point of view of efficiency and transparency, the blockchain platform can be useful. This is the first project. And it is possible to say with high probability that a strategy can be formed through this project and there will be great results from it," Osmanov stated
In addition, the use of the blockchain platform will open up new opportunities for developers, he concluded.
The Center for the Study and Development of the Market for Cryptocurrency and Blockchain Technology was established in early April 2018. The Center focuses on awareness-raising, preparation of proposals on the regulation of the cryptocurrency market and blockchain, as well as the provision of consulting services in this area.
A blockchain is a continuously growing list of records, called blocks, which are linked and secured using cryptography. Each block typically contains a hash pointer as a link to a previous block, a timestamp and transaction data. Most often, copies of block chains are stored on a variety of computers and are independently of each other processed by them.
The first blockchain was conceptualized in 2008 by an anonymous person or group known as Satoshi Nakamoto and implemented in 2009 as a core component of bitcoin where it serves as the public ledger for all transactions.