(Corrected Ripple Labs to Ripple in the first paragraph.)

Blockchain banking app Babb announced that it has appointed Dr. Anish Mohammed, blockchain expert, cryptography specialist and an advisor to Ripple, as the team’s Chief Technology Officer and Chief Security Officer.

With the appointment, Mohammed will spearhead the upcoming launch of blockchain-based bank account.

“Dr. Mohammed joins the BABB team at a pivotal time as we scale up our development team to launch the world’s first blockchain-based bank account, set to revolutionize the future of retail banking,” Rushd Averroes, CEO of Babb, said as reported by Finextra.

Having been a thought leader in the security and cryptography industry for over 15 years, Mohammad has had experience in building a micropayments system for Ericsson and researching cryptographic algorithms and protocols with Microsoft Research. He has also served notable lead roles with Accenture and CapGemini.

As an advisor to leading blockchain payments provider Ripple, Mohammed’s recent project involves security versus scalability versus consensus of blockchain technology as well as use cases of smart contracts for the safety of artificial intelligence.

“I am thrilled to join the founding team at BABB. I believe BABB will form the backbone of the micro-economy and promotes true financial inclusion. A solution for any bank who wants to offer services running on an app and a network enabling social and financial inclusion,” Mohammed commented.

The BABB platform is based on a private permissioned Ethereum blockchain implementation of a distributed ledger using smart contracts technology. It is a banking platform that is set to empower people, irrespective of their income. Using biometrics to deliver secure UX, Babb utilizes big data analytics to optimize match-making and control risk. The startup is planning to launch its Babb banking app later this year.