Digitalization of remote identity verification in banks of the Russian Federation using a Web3 platform (DID)

This paper presents a decentralised Web 3.0 platform for remote client identification in Russian banks based on the Decentralized Identifiers (DID) standard. The study aims to quantify whether a DID model can reduce the cost and effort of KYC procedures compared with the centralised ESIA and EBS systems while remaining compliant with Bank of Russia regulations and Federal Law 152-FL. The methodology comprises a regulatory review, a discounted-cash-flow model (WACC = 12%) and sensitivity analysis of partner-bank numbers on NPV. Results indicate that onboarding one million clients requires a five-year CAPEX of roughly RUB 730 million, yields a 46 % reduction in direct KYC costs and achieves positive NPV in year 6. A conceptual architecture and a pilot roadmap involving three partner banks are proposed. The findings confirm the practical feasibility and economic attractiveness of the DID approach, as well as its potential to enhance data security and privacy.