Selfie biometrics continue rapid rise with increasing availability, Onfido and Yoti customer wins

Several new partnerships and solutions based on biometric identity checks from mobile devices have been announced. Onfido has signing a pair of new onboarding clients for its ID document and selfie biometrics, Yoti has a new age verification customer, and Bluink’s digital ID app now covers most of Canada’s population. More announcements are expected soon, as SmartSearch is addressing the U.S.’ new AML rules, Kabn has partnered up to engage with U.S. college students, and Experian’s research shows companies in India are adjusting to increasing digital engagement with an emphasis on implementing KYC.

Two new customers adopt Onfido biometrics

Onfido has signed up a pair of new partners for its ID document and selfie biometrics-based onboarding solution in Holdnaut and Mangopay.

Cryptocurrency lending platform Hodlnaut has reduced its total onboarding time from 2 days to just 60 minutes, while meeting know your customer (KYC) regulatory requirements. The number of checks completed through the biometric process has also increased by more than 52 percent, according to the announcement, and the user experience has been improved.

Onfido matches users to their government-issued identity documents with selfie video biometric checks, including liveness detection, as a layer of protection against stolen IDs and identity fraud.

“We tested several different solutions and came to the conclusion that Onfido offered the best user experience overall with industry-leading screening,” says Simon Lee, CTO at Hodlnaut. “Onfido delivers exactly what we need to be KYC compliant without sacrificing the user experience.”

Mangopay, which provides an end-to-end payment solution for online marketplaces, crowdfunding platforms and fintechs, has likewise chosen Onfido face biometrics to meet its KYC requirements.

The platform is used by more than 2,500 platforms in 26 countries, and processes 200 million transactions per year. Mangopay offers a digital wallet system that enables European platforms to manage payments and take automated commissions through its API, while complying with EU regulations.

“We’re pleased to be supporting MANGOPAY as it continues its mission to power payment technologies with trust, transparency and security at the forefront,” states Onfido VP for Southern EMEA Gimena Diaz. “Onfido’s hybrid approach combines the speed and scalability of AI, with expert identity analysts, so forward-thinking companies such as MANGOPAY can onboard more users quickly with world-class fraud detection capabilities. This helps build user trust and improves the user experience with a simplified yet fortified identity verification process.”

SmartSearch launches biometric solution in US to help business comply with new AML rules

SmartSearch U.S. is launching an enhanced digital fraud protection with selfie biometrics to help businesses comply with the country’s newly-passed anti money-laundering (AML) laws.

The SmartSearch platform pulls together digital data such as telephone numbers and IP addresses, and matches it against physical address information, ID document and a selfie video for biometric and liveness checks, creating a Composite Digital Identity (CDI).

U.S. Congress passed new AML legislation on January 1, 2021.

“We are now able to place the most sophisticated technology on the market in the hands of law firms, accountants and real estate agents, to make quick and simple checks that protects them against money laundering,” states SmartSearch U.S. National Sales Director Chad Rawlings.

“By combining the three sophisticated verification processes into one powerful tool, namely ID, sanction & PEP checks, document and facial recognition and digital fraud checks, we have created the most powerful, robust and reliable all-in-one AML platform on the market.”

SmartSearch launched its biometric AML screening solution last year.

eID-Me launches for Canadian provinces and territory

Bluink has announced the launch of the eID-Me digital identity app in Alberta, Manitoba, and Nunavut, leaving only the country’s Maritime provinces’ and North-Western territories’ IDs unsupported.

The digital ID app cannot currently be used as a substitute for legal ID. It can, however, be used for access to online services, with Bluink noting Diamond and Diamond Lawyers have implemented the app for secure identity verification.

The app includes selfie facial recognition check capabilities, and is intended to empower Canadians with self-sovereign identity (SSI). It was launched to four Canadian provinces last year.

Yoti wins UK customer for age checks

Yoti’s face biometrics-based age estimation has been adopted by FinalRunner to verify its users are old enough for online gaming.

UK-based FinalRunner provides an online fundraising platform based on sports gaming. Yoti’s age-checking solution was recently certified to the United Kingdom’s Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS).

Liquid Avatars to be offered at more than 2K US colleges

Kabn has partnered with The Campus Agency to bring its Liquid Avatars to colleges and universities across the U.S. with innovative engagement programs, Help Net Security reports.

Liquid Avatars are a tool based on biometrics and blockchain for self-sovereign identity verification.

The partners intend to raise brand awareness and evangelize for SSI to the more than 2,000 institutions reached by The Campus Agency’s student marketing campaigns.

“The collegiate market and Gen Z cohort are primary opportunities for Liquid Avatar and KABN” says Kabn CEO David Lucatch.

“These groups are major influencers to their friends and families, and we believe that we can offer users a wealth of value and increase their ability to manage their Self Sovereign Identity through our tools and services.”

KYC gains ground in India, but consumers want biometrics protected

Customer identification technology has been implemented to various platforms by 99 percent of businesses in India, and KYC is emphasized by more businesses in the country than elsewhere in the APAC region, according to the Global Insights Report from Experian.

More than one in five people (21 percent) in India specified the protection of physical biometric data as a concern, the most of any APAC country.

Almost all businesses in the country believe they are using the right fraud management metrics (97 percent), and many companies plan to implement machine learning (18 percent) and automated decision making (18 percent).

The survey also reveals 34 percent of consumers in India are concerned about identity theft, among a range of data protection concerns. Mobile wallet use is up to 87 percent since the onset of COVID-19, highest in the region.

Article Topics

Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS)  |  biometric liveness detection  |  biometrics  |  Bluink  |  digital identity  |  Experian  |  facial recognition  |  identity verification  |  Kabn Systems  |  KYC  |  onboarding  |  Onfido  |  selfie biometrics  |  SmartSearch  |  Yoti