Introduction: What is KYC?
Know Your Customer (KYC) refers to the process of verifying the identity of a customer. This is a critical aspect of compliance for businesses to prevent fraud, ensure security, and maintain regulatory standards. Initially, KYC was a manual process involving physical document verification, which was time-consuming and prone to errors. Today, with advancements in technology, KYC processes have evolved into automated systems that enhance efficiency and accuracy.
Old school KYC: Manual KYC
Manual KYC processes involve a significant amount of paperwork and human intervention. Typically, customers are required to submit physical copies of their identification documents, which are then manually verified by the compliance team. This process is not only slow but also susceptible to human error and document forgery. Moreover, handling and storing physical documents pose security risks and logistical challenges.
KYC Today: The Shift to Automated Solutions
In response to the inefficiencies of manual KYC, businesses are increasingly adopting automated KYC solutions. These systems leverage advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, biometrics, machine learning, and optical character recognition (OCR) to verify customer identities swiftly and accurately. Automated KYC not only speeds up the onboarding process but also enhances data security and reduces the risk of fraud.
Automated KYC Verification Providers
Several providers have emerged as leaders in the automated KYC space, offering robust solutions for businesses across various industries. Let's explore the top four providers: Footprint, Persona, Onfido, and Alloy.
Footprint Overview
Footprint does more for your business than simply check off the KYC box. Footprint is a comprehensive onboarding company designed to help companies seamlessly collect, verify and vault customer information. In addition to traditional KYC capabilities like document verification and database checks, Footprint offers a suite of anti-fraud products. Their platform provides customizable onboarding components that can be fully embedded into existing systems, allowing businesses to tailor the KYC process to their specific needs.
By tying both Fraud and Identity together, Footprint helps companies toggle friction up and down in realtime, both improving the overall conversion rate and preventing fraud. Footprint uses state of the art machine learning and biometric analysis to ensure your customers are who they say they are. Their platform also supports continuous monitoring for enhanced Anti-Money Laundering (AML) compliance. Footprint's approach ensures a seamless and secure customer onboarding experience.
Visit Footprint: Footprint
Persona Overview
Persona is known for supporting marketplaces with IDV solutions. The platform offers an embeddable SDK to help save on developer resources, but this comes with customization limitations.
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Onfido Overview
Onfido is a large UK player in the KYC space. They specialize in document verification and use their mobile webflow to let users submit their identity documents. While the document verification can be an effective blocker against fraud, the user experience can lead to conversion drop off.
Visit Onfido: Onfido
Alloy Overview
Alloy is an orchestration platform that lets businesses run database checks via API. While they have extensive data coverage, they are limited in their ability to protect against fraud. Since they do not live on the frontend, it is up to the company to decide how risky a user may be. Alloy simply confirms the existence of the identifiable information in the major credit bureaus.
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Conclusion
With the rise of digital banking and fintechs, automated KYC is the future. Companies like Footprint are leading the way by tying together fraud and identity, helping business both increase conversion and prevent fraud.
