DIATF-certified Vouchsafe raises £1m to address identity poverty with biometrics

UK biometric identity verification provider Vouchsafe has announced closure on an oversubscribed £1 million (US$1.3M) pre-seed funding round, led by tech-for-good VC Bethnal Green Ventures (BVG) with support from Innovatrics’ startup incubator Biometric Ventures.

Fuel Ventures, Seed X Liechtenstein and angel investor Andrew Chevis, CEO of CitizenCard, also participated, according to a post announcing the win.

“With this funding, things get really exciting,” the post says. “Now we can take on ID poverty” – the inability to prove who you are – “at scale and push Vouchsafe to the forefront of identity verification and fraud prevention.”

“Right now, identity verification is leaving millions behind while fraudsters race ahead. We deserve a system that protects everyone, not just those with perfect paperwork.

Vouchsafe’s biometric vouching service was certified for the UK’s Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF) by the Age Check Certification Scheme (ACCS) in February.

The company is already working with ScotAccount to help onboard users without photo IDs, an estimated one million people.

The funding will be funneled into new features such as alerts, smart lookups, and more ways for people to prove who they are, “including new and rare kinds of evidence.”

Article Topics

Biometric Ventures  |  biometrics  |  DIATF certification  |  digital identity  |  funding  |  identity verification  |  investment  |  UK  |  Vouchsafe