Kyckr, Signicat data show limits of one-time identity checks

Two new studies of the UK market point to pressure on identity systems at opposite ends of the customer journey – and illustrate how one-time identity checks are no longer sufficient.

Data from Kyckr shows the problem at the front door, where businesses with complex ownership structures, such as those with overseas shareholders, multiple jurisdictions or trust arrangements, are more than twice as likely as simple businesses to need an in-person branch visit to complete their application – and show stronger interest in reusable digital company identity as a way to reduce repeated verification. On the other end, Signicat identifies pain points after entry, in the growing threat from identity fraud during the transaction phase.

Banks can lead the way on digital company ID adoption: Kyckr

Kycker’s report, The State of Business Banking Onboarding in 2026, says demand is not the problem in the adoption of digital company IDs. Indeed, 74 percent of businesses surveyed say they would adopt a reusable digital company ID now – and 83 percent say it would be worth paying for.

Yet while 3 in 4 businesses want a reusable digital business ID, “institutions have yet to build the acceptance and infrastructure that would let businesses use a digital company ID widely.”

Steve Lamb, CEO of Kyckr, says new technologies are enabling a different model, and the ecosystem to support true reusable ID is beginning to emerge. “However, no single organisation can deliver this future alone; banks, fintechs, registries and regulators all have a part to play, working together to build something better.”

The report notes that while the banking sector has become “very good at digitizing processes,” that doesn’t necessarily mean digitization has solved underlying problems.

“Asking a business to upload the same shareholder certificates through an online portal rather than hand them across a branch counter is an improvement. But there is still considerable friction if that business must reconstruct and prove its identity every time it begins a new financial relationship, and if the institutions on the other side must repeatedly gather and verify much of the same information.”

As more stringent AML regulations continue to demand robust verification, reusable digital company ID could solve this problem. And banks may be the catalyst for wider adoption: “Kyckr’s research suggests that nearly half of all businesses would use digital company IDs today if such schemes were more widely accepted by financial institutions.”

Transaction phase becomes the new battleground: Signicat

Signicat’s new publication, the Battle in the Dark report, shines a light on the damage that can happen if strong verification is not applied, and fraud attacks reach the transaction point. The firm says that while logins account for 29 percent of UK identity fraud attempts, 35 percent occur during transactions.

“Across the studied markets, the transaction phase is the most exposed point in the customer journey,” says a release. “The challenge no longer lies just in identifying a new customer. Fraudsters actively target existing consumers. They attack when people log in, access accounts, or authorize transactions.”

Thomas Osinga, head of identity proofing at Signicat, says this shift means businesses must move towards continuous verified trust. “Checks must run silently in the background throughout the entire customer journey,” he says, pointing to data like geolocation, IP analysis, and device metrics.

Moreover, while vigilance around the AI threat is warranted, Osinga warns not to ignore less flashy threats. “Today we talk a lot about deepfakes, and for good reasons. But we must not forget that classic forms of identity fraud are still growing,” he says. “This includes social engineering, where vulnerable people are targeted. It also covers phishing, smishing, and basic copies of ID documents.”

“Fraudsters are not changing their approach. They use AI to industrialise the classic art of deception at scale.”

That said, the need for continuous trust will only grow, as AI agents enter the financial ecosystem.

Taken together, the studies point to identity assurance moving in two directions at once: toward reusable credentials that reduce repeated proofing at the front door, and toward continuous risk signals that test whether trust should persist after a customer gets inside.

Article Topics

continuous verification  |  digital company ID  |  fraud prevention  |  identity verification  |  Kyckr  |  onboarding  |  Signicat