Acuant and FacePhi announce remote biometric onboarding customer wins

Acuant and FacePhi have announced biometric onboarding wins, while Socure is extending its ID document and selfie biometric services to new markets. Elsewhere in the busy remote KYC market, while a Juniper Research report suggests online fraud will continue to drive growth in the digital ID market, a global survey has been launched by ACAMS and RUSI, and Inverite has been acquired by Marble in a deal that could be worth over $3 million.

Acuant identity verification to power Pryme workflow solutions

Acuant’s biometric identity verification, compliance and digital identity engine will power Pryme workflow software following the announcement of a new partnership with Merydyan to help its clients with facial recognition and other technologies for compliance to know your customer (KYC) and anti money-laundering (AML) regulations.

Pryme enables businesses to develop ‘full circle’ workflows based on a paperless, web-based and private cloud hosted environment. Merydyan chose Acuant for secure identity verification to Pryme due to its reputation as a proven identity verification leader, and its provision of identity document and biometric authentication with liveness checking, according to the announcement.

“Merydyan’s top priority is our clients’ success, and Acuant understands our needs for secure automation, with the ability to scale. They listened and delivered a product that exceeded our expectations and met our customer needs. With this partnership any commercial or tribal gaming entity, sports wagering / gaming companies can utilize PRYME with Acuant to conduct instant watchlist searching for terrorists, money launderers for AML/KYC, fraud protection purposes to authenticate an ID – this includes facial recognition match,” said Debra Chase-Mosley, the COO and vice president of Client Development at Merydyan.

FacePhi wins biometric bank account security contract and enters Koreas sandbox

FacePhi’s SelphID and Selphi biometrics are being implemented by South Korea’s Daegu Bank for remote opening of checking and savings accounts, which FacePhi says will be the first digital onboarding service of its kind in the country.

The biometric technologies will also be part of a banking innovation project Korean authorities are promoting, according to the announcement. FacePhi’s biometric solutions are included in the Korean government’s ‘Innovation Financial Services’ strategic plan, with the company one of the few selected to test banking innovations through AI and other digital technologies in a regulatory sandbox.

FacePhi CEO Javier Mira said that inclusion in the project “is a real stimulus for FacePhi, since it means being at the international forefront of the sector and the initiatives promoted by the Korean government for the digital transformation of its banking sector. Participating in a regulatory sandbox is a good opportunity for biometric technology and legislation to progress hand in hand, opening new opportunities for companies and reinforcing the security with which citizens receive these innovations.”

Daegu Bank is one of the largest financial institutions in Korea, and FacePhi’s facial recognition and optical character reading (OCR) will be integrated into its mobile app. The integration will start with onboarding through a photo of an ID document and selfie biometrics, with passwordless account access coming later in 2021. Once that stage is complete, FacePhi suggests the same identity verification system can be used for other applications, like validating bank transfers or obtaining public certificates.

The company announced last month it had raised $40 million to fuel its expansion.

Socure bringing passive ID verification and biometrics to gambling operators in 11 states

Socure has made the Socure ID+ identity verification platform available for gaming operators in 11 states for passive, ‘Intelligent KYC’ checks.

The company’s technology is now approved for partners in Colorado, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, and New Hampshire, and has also filed or begun preparations to file for approved vendor status in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.

Socure says its technology verifies the digital identities of online players to increase conversions and reduce abandoned attempts without sacrificing security. Auto-approval rates are as high as 90 percent, with birthdate and address-matching compliance, and stronger performance than competitors in the 21- to 34-year-old age group, according to the press release. In the event of a failed passive verification, the applicant can be stepped up to document verification and face biometrics checks with Socure’s DocV.

Digital ID will grow, but which version less certain, Juniper report says

Online payment fraud will surpass $43 billion in 2024, with fraud detection and prevention software spending reaching $10 billion in response, according to the ‘Digital Identity Report 2020-2025’ from Juniper Research.

Experian VP of Industry Solutions David Britton interprets the findings in a blog post with a link to download the report.

The report looks at the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on digital identity, what it calls the “API-sation of Identity,” and government efforts, as well as the current market landscape for digital ID, including identity wallets and identity networks. Different models of digital ID, including from single sign-on (SSO) to Self-sovereign ID (SSI) are examined.

ACAMS and RUSI digital ID survey launched

AML and CTF industry body ACAMS and the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), a UK-based think tank, have launched a global survey on digital ID and its effectiveness in preventing financial crime, and is inviting participation by people in the digital ID field.

Last year’s survey from the groups focused on risks associated with cryptocurrency.

The 2021 survey closes on February 19.

Marble acquires Inverite to add face biometrics for $1.2M or more

Canadian fintech Marble Financial has agreed to acquire Inverite Verification for CDN$1.5 million (US$1.2 million), with an additional CDN$2.5 million ($2 million) in performance incentives based on a multiple of Annual Incremental Revenue Growth (AIR).

Inverite’s ID Verify identity and age verification service, which can be used for KYC and other regulatory checks according to the company’s website, includes a facial recognition option. The company says it has access points with 286 financial institutions, which is fifteen times more than its closest competitor in Canada. Inverite also claims superior consumer coverage and processing times, with an AI-based risk score trained from tens of millions of banking verification requests and loan activities.

Marble plans to integrate Inverite’s technology with its MyMarble personal finance platform, after the execution of the definitive agreement, which is expected to take place by the end of March.

Article Topics

Acuant  |  biometric liveness detection  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  Experian  |  FacePhi  |  facial recognition  |  identity verification  |  KYC  |  onboarding  |  remote authentication  |  Socure