Amex Looks to Blockchain for Customer, Merchant Security

Vice president of technology at American Express, Tereasa Kastel, spoke at the Oktane 18 conference in Las Vegas earlier this week, discussing the multiple uses for blockchain being explored by the corporation.

Protecting identities and information

As reported by TechRadar, identification security and protecting user information formed the basis of Kastel’s speech. She discussed the prospect of an immutable blockchain solution to American Express’s objective of providing the highest levels of user security and data protection.

“If you’re in this industry, you have to have a voracious appetite for all things identity… to be able to work in a world where there is constant change, you… have to always ensure you can stay ahead of the curve,” she noted.

“Being in the financial industry, we have to be somewhat conservative on what legal and regulatory requirements there are,”‘ she added, commenting on the disparity between government policy, or lack of, regarding blockchain.

Despite this, Kastel said: ”On the other hand, what empowers an individual user to do in terms of controlling their identity, and have that identity be immutable, is something you can’t pass by.”

A blockchain identity wallet

Kastel outlined that initial blockchain probes would be limited to financial transactions. Now, however, she reported American Express is looking into creating a blockchain identity wallet.

”We were starting to explore what would an identity wallet look like, and could blockchain be used to help serve as, both internal, but also external card members and merchants,” Kastel said, detailing a visit to the corporation’s research and development lab.

She added that “American Express is a very innovative company”, in an acknowledgement of blockchain as the next seminal development in the technology industry.