Accenture To Sign Blockchain Traveler ID Agreement With Canada And Netherlands

Blockchain, News | June 19, 2019 By:

Professional services giant Accenture will be signing a formal agreement with Canada, the Netherlands, and other groups to utilize blockchain technology in recognizing travelers.

During the Synchronize Europe conference in London, David Treat, Accenture managing director of capital markets, said that Accenture will team up with the Canadian and Dutch governments, as well as Air France-KLM, Air Canada and several airports under a new agreement, called Known Traveler Digital Identity (KTDI).

Treat said that he will approve the agreement, which intends to customize the passenger’s encounters utilizing biometric information, in around about fourteen days. The blockchain-based ID will allow travelers to notify customs authorities of their biometrics and trip itinerary in advance.

“If I’m able to take my user-controlled identity, decide that I actually want to share, so that I can get hyper-personalized service,” Treat said. “I want to share aspects of my preferences, my identity with those players […] in my journey, can I get a better service?”

The KTDI project initially surfaced last year around the World Economic Forum, with authorities demonstrating the need to facilitate travelers’ data.

At the time, Liselotte de Maar, Managing Director in Accenture’s Travel practice, said that the use of distributed ledger technology can foster an unprecedented level of trust between governments, businesses and travel providers that becomes stronger over time as more interactions take place across the travel ecosystem.

“The KTDI concept removes friction from travelling while ensuring greater security at each touchpoint, from hotel check-in to border control,” de Maar said. “By enabling travellers to share their validated identity information through the KTDI, it allows receiving organizations the advantage of knowing in advance with whom they will interact.”