X ID verification with Au10tix now official; IDVerse, iDenfy, Onfido sign deals

The platform formerly known as Twitter is hoping to solve some of the confusion left by its change in identity verification policies by pairing up with selfie biometrics provider Au10tix. Elon Musk-owned X will now offer account verification based on government IDs.

The social media network says it is focusing on account authentication to prevent impersonation. It may also explore additional measures, such as ensuring users have access to age-appropriate content and protecting against spam and malicious accounts, according to the platform’s policy.

X started removing blue check-mark verification badges from legacy users back in April in order to increase paid subscriptions. The move caused significant controversy as the new rules meant anyone could purchase a verification badge without going through actual identity verification, leading to increased impersonation attempts.

Rumors about Au10tix’s deal with the platform started in August, just as the platform updated its privacy policy to add that it has the ability to capture users’ biometric data.

For now, it is unclear whether X will be able to solve its impersonation problem as the government ID verification is optional, only available to paid users and currently unavailable in many countries. Verification with Israel-based Au10tix is not available in the European Union, the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, likely due to Europe’s stringent data rules, TechCrunch reports.

IDVerse, iDenfy, Onfido score new deals, Verified.africa offers free verification

Several other new remote identity verification deals have been announced as well.

IDVerse (previously known as OCR Labs) will provide ID verification through selfie biometrics for gambling and financial trading software supplier Playtech. Gambling operators have been under pressure to improve players’ verification and keep underage users and fraudsters away and IDVerse plans to help the company scale into other markets without the need to change identity verification providers, the two companies said in a release.

iDenfy has been selected by UK-based fintech company Kestrl specializing in Islamic finance, which brands itself as “the Muslim Money App,” while Onfido announced a contract with law firm Taylor Rose MW. Onfido, which is certified by the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework, will help streamline know your customer (KYC) process, fraud detection and user onboarding for home buyers.

Finally, KYC provider Seamfix has launched Verified.africa and is offering free credits towards it identity verification platform. The company will give away its verification services, including face biometrics match, document verification and liveness detection, for free to eligible startups under the Verified Startup Accelerator Program. The program offers early-stage startups over US$5,000 worth of complimentary verification usage credits for up to six months.

Verified.africa says it has verified more than three million customer identities over the last three years. The company started off in Nigeria and expanded to Ghana, South Africa, and Kenya with more African countries planned.

Article Topics

AU10TIX  |  face biometrics  |  iDenfy  |  identity verification  |  IDVerse  |  KYC  |  onboarding  |  Onfido  |  Seamfix  |  selfie biometrics  |  X (twitter)