Biometrics providers push further into financial services, past digital ID misconceptions

A set of stubborn myths about digital ID are posing stubborn barriers to its application in banking and financial services, Open Identity Exchange Chief Identity Strategist Nick Mothershaw says. Despite this, a new platform from Caf, a partnership for Sumsub, approval for FacePhi and awards for Shufti Pro show strong momentum in the biometric KYC space.

In an editorial for Finextra, the OIX head identifies and addresses in turn concerns around fraud, data security and liability, accessibility and inclusion, and data exploitation.

Digital ID trust frameworks play the critical role in guarding against the first group of concerns, Mothershaw points out. Along with strong authentication tools like biometrics, digital ID could dramatically reduce fraud.

Inclusion is an ongoing focus, and Mothershaw notes the OIX Inclusion Steering Group and its proposal for a voucher and photo to bring people without ID documents into the digital ID ecosystem. For those who do not want a digital ID, the trust framework should supply an alternative mode of access.

Fears about data exploitation must be addressed by local data protection legislation.

The perceived challenges, Mothershaw writes, have largely been addressed or are in the process of being addressed.

Caf launches KYC platform

Caf has launched its Know Your Everything digital ID platform to help businesses protect their users while offering optimal digital experiences.

The Know Your Everything platform provides customer onboarding and identity verification, with selfie biometrics and document validation for KYC and KYB checks. Its liveness detection has passed iBeta Level 1 testing, and the company says its platform provides best-in-class data coverage, with availability in more than 200 countries and territories. It also features a drag-and-drop workflow builder and a flexible orchestration engine, according to the company announcement.

Caf says it doubled its revenues in 2022, despite challenging global market conditions for startups. The company also recently changed its name from ‘Combate à Fraude.’

“As we move further into a Web 3.0 world and beyond, global, anywhere commerce and banking will become the norm,” says Caf CEO Darryl Green. “This means businesses need to know a lot more about their customers to properly identify risk and root out fraud. Our new global KYE platform will allow businesses to do just that, while maintaining a quick and seamless verification and authentication experience for good users.”

Sumsub partners with financial infrastructure provider

Cloud financial infrastructure platform Pismo has selected Sumsub to provide user onboarding with selfie biometrics.

Brazil-based Pismo’s platform provides all core banking and payment processing capabilities to banks, fintechs, and non-financial institutions.

“Pismo’s platform processes almost 70 million accounts and 2.2 billion transactions per year,” says Pismo CEO for North America, EMEA and APAC Vishal Dalal. “Only a highly robust solution with advanced AI and machine learning technologies like Sumsub is capable of managing identities and preventing fraud at the speed that we require. This partnership contributes to the ever-increasing security level of our platform, increasing its efficiency and positively impacting the quality service we deliver our clients.”

FacePhi wins approval for Spanish banks, Shufti wins 3 awards

FacePhi has been approved to supply selfie biometrics and digital identity verification solutions to Spanish banks,

The Executive Service of the Commission for the Prevention of Money Laundering and Monetary Offenses (SEPBLAC) sets the rules for financial interactions with Spain’s banks. FacePhi was confirmed to meet its requirements through an external audit by Certeidas shortly before the close of 2022.

The assessment gives FacePhi’s Spanish bank customers confidence that their biometric onboarding and authentication technologies comply with SEPBLAC’s security guidelines, the company says.

Shufti Pro is a winner in three categories of the Ultimate FinTech Awards 2023, meanwhile.

The company has announced wins for having the ‘Best Fintech AI Solution,’ ‘Best Regtech Reporting Solution,’ and ‘Best Client Onboarding Solution.’ The Ultimate FinTech Awards are given out by the events and marketing agency Ultimate FinTech.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  CAF  |  face biometrics  |  FacePhi  |  identity verification  |  KYC  |  onboarding  |  Open Identity Exchange (OIX)  |  selfie biometrics  |  Shufti Pro  |  Sumsub