Emirates NBD, one of the largest banking groups in the Middle East, has partnered with the central bank of United Arab Emirates on a blockchain trial project that is focused on curbing bank cheque fraud, CoinDesk Reported.

Dubai has been widely adopting disruptive technologies like blockchain. The announcement follows after Emirates NDB partnered with Indian banking giant ICICI Bank and Infosys Finacle to complete blockchain-based transactions in international trade finance and remittance, last year.

Also, the group tested blockchain technology and joined an expansive research and information-sharing effort backed by the Dubai government.

“We are currently working with the central bank of the UAE to add the blockchain security feature to our paper cheques, so we can prove that the technology is fit for purpose at production volumes. We are very excited at this prospect and we welcome the cooperation of other banks and institutions in developing the use case into not only a new standard for cheques but also to develop best practices that we can apply in other use cases,” Ali Sajwani, Emirates NBD's chief information officer, said.

With the proposed blockchain system to combat cheque fraud, the recipient of a cheque and their bank can be able to check whether it is valid, relying on a blockchain as a tamper-proof verification layer. This method is integral to fostering the adoption of secure, efficient financial technologies.