Singapore, Shenzhen trial cross-border data platform
Singapore and Shenzhen have started trial operations of a cross-border data validation platform that links the two markets and focuses first on validating business owners' personal credit reports.
The Singapore-Shenzhen Cross-Border Data Validation Platform verifies user-carried data across borders through a hash-based process. The trial centres on cross-border financial services, with Baihang Credit providing credit reports for verification.
The project sets out an operating model for cross-border verification between Singapore and China. It also signals broader work on digital infrastructure between the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area and ASEAN markets.
Partners involved
Accredify operates the platform on Singapore's side. China (Qianhai) Internet Exchange runs the Shenzhen side. WeBank provided overall architecture design and technical support.
Enterprise Singapore supports the initiative. The Authority of Qianhai Shenzhen-Hong Kong Modern Service Industry Cooperation Zone and the Commerce Bureau of Shenzhen Municipality also support it.
The platform was previously announced at the Singapore-Guangdong Cooperation Council meeting. It has now moved into trial operations.
Quah Zheng Wei, Chief Executive Officer of Accredify, described the broader ambition for the design.
"This platform provides a replicable model for digital cooperation between the Greater Bay Area and ASEAN countries," said Quah Zheng Wei, CEO of Accredify. "It enables a credible approach to validate the authenticity of the documents presented by the users across borders while facilitating compliant cross-border data transfers."
Financial services focus
The trial operations concentrate on a cross-border financial services use case. Baihang Credit enables cross-border verification of business owners' personal credit reports.
The work takes place under the guidance of the Shenzhen Branch of the People's Bank of China. The release also cites support from various levels of government.
Cross-border verification of credit information often sits at the centre of onboarding processes for lending and other financial services. Firms expanding between Singapore and China face different domestic data rules, as well as operational checks used by banks and other institutions.
In this model, users initiate the data transmission themselves. They download information from data providers. They transmit it independently to data recipients. Users authorise the scope and purpose of data usage.
Technology design
The platform uses open-source blockchain technology FISCO BCOS and Distributed Data Transmission Protocol. The platform uses hash verification for validation.
The platform does not transmit or store original user data, according to the release. It verifies hashes associated with the data. The design separates data transmission by users from the verification process.
The platform positions this as a method that fits regulatory requirements for cross-border data transfers. The parties describe compliance, security and trust as key issues for cross-border transmission of data.
Regional reference point
The platform draws on a similar model used in the Greater Bay Area, according to the release. The Shenzhen-Hong Kong Cross-boundary Data Verification Platform has processed over 2,300 transactions since launch. It connects 19 institutions across 11 use cases.
The release states the Shenzhen-Hong Kong platform facilitated access to loan services for Hong Kong residents in Shenzhen. It also states the platform enabled over HK$100 million in financing for Hong Kong affiliates of mainland small and medium-sized enterprises.
In another use case cited, the release says it reduced verification time for admission letters issued by Hong Kong universities. Those letters can serve as proof for cross-boundary remittances by Mainland students paying tuition fees to Hong Kong universities.
Next phases
The parties plan to expand beyond financial services into additional data types and use cases. The release describes future phases that will broaden verifiable data sources and deepen data connectivity between Singapore and Shenzhen.
The release describes the initiative as the first operational digital infrastructure for data flow between Singapore and Guangdong, and it frames the trial as practical experience for future digital cooperation between the Greater Bay Area and ASEAN countries.