Category: Technology

Welcome to our Technology category, a dedicated hub crafted to explore and delve into the latest technological trends reverberating through the fintech industry. As an innovative fintech entity, we stand firmly in our belief in the transformative power of technology. We see it as the catalyst reshaping the financial landscape, making it more efficient, secure, and customer-oriented.

The articles housed in this category dive into a multitude of tech-centric topics. We discuss everything from the role of artificial intelligence and machine learning in reshaping finance to the profound impact of blockchain on financial transactions. Our objective is to provide an exhaustive perspective of the tech landscape, spotlighting how technological advancements are revolutionizing the financial industry and opening up new avenues of opportunity.

At Signzy, we harness the power of cutting-edge technologies to craft our innovative fintech solutions. We remain steadfast in our commitment to stay at the forefront of technological advancements, continuously evolving our product offerings to deliver the best, most efficient solutions to our clients.

Whether you’re a fintech professional immersed in the sector, a technology enthusiast passionate about the latest developments, or simply an individual curious about how technology is driving transformation in finance, our Technology category offers a wealth of valuable insights.

We cordially invite you to join us on this fascinating journey as we explore the world of fintech technology, discussing its pivotal role in shaping the future of finance. Step into this exciting realm with us, as we unravel how technology is not just influencing, but defining the next generation of financial services.

How do banks digitally verify your online identity?

Posted on | by Signzian

Data breaches and identity fraud continue to be a primary security concern for banks and fintechs . They have harmful financial ramifications for banks. They can also damage the reputation of institutions around the world. As technology advances so do the fraudsters’ methods of theft and deception. Banks need to provide online identity verification service to their users to fulfill regulatory obligations and manage risk.

First, banks have to ascertain that you are who you claim to be. Second, they have to determine that you aren’t a terrorist or involved in crimes like money laundering.

This first step in the traditional KYC process in banks is manually verifying the identity of a customer. This could prove to be the weakest link in a bank’s KYC process. Why? Because it is the most vulnerable to human error.

Fulfilling compliance obligations like Anti-Money Laundering (AML) checks & Combating the Financing of Terrorism (CFT) is not easy for all the entities. Common hurdles are:

  1. A lack of resources
  2. Negative effect on customer experience
  3. Maintaining strict standards of data security

Online identity verification is a suitable solution for all these problems. It fulfills regulatory requirements and provides a secure and seamless user experience. The method is efficient and can easily practice robust data security.

Transitioning to Online Identity Verification

Total identity fraud losses reached $16.9 billion (USD) in 2019 according to Javelin’s 2020 Identity Fraud Survey. It is an annual comprehensive analysis of identity fraud trends. To prevent the instances of such crimes, financial regulatory authorities are setup. Examples include the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Also, local regulators have set up KYC and AML compliances that businesses are encouraged to adhere to. These regulations enable businesses to carry out proper due diligence for their customers. This can be easily done by properly analyzing customers’ documents to verify their identity. This also helps reduce the probability of fraud and scam. This KYC procedure was mostly done with in-person verification (IPV) by banks, financial institutions, and government offices. However, this was a time-consuming ordeal. Currently, the process is seamlessly done with the help of AI driven online identity verification systems.

Now you can conduct your business via your computer and cell phone. In the meantime, the bank or business representative can authenticate your identity. It can detect stolen personal identifiable information and forged synthetic ID documents. This can be done with technology like image forensics.

Capture, Extract, Verify, Screen, Result

How does it work?

  1. Identity documents are uploaded in real-time. The software detects the document and extracts relevant information from it using AI-based OCR extraction.
  2. The data is then analyzed to detect fraud. Next, the name is screened. This determines if the individual poses higher risk from a Money Laundering or Reputation Risk Perspective.
  3. Once the checks are done, a result is procured within minutes.

Document Verification

Detailed customer attributes can be verified through government issued identity cards and documents. They can be a permutation or combination of the following:

  • Personal Credentials (Name, Number, Age, Date of Birth, and more)
  • Nationality & Immigration Status (Residence Country, Place of Birth, Sponsor, Citizenship and more)
  • Documentation for Demographic Information (Tax Numbers, ID Number, Birth Certificate Number, Domiciles and more)
  • Employee Data & Employer Registration (Employer ID, Year Of Registration, Permit Type, Invoice Details and more)

The types in which these can be falsified are:

Illegitimate documents: These documents are completely fake. They consist of characteristics like missing holograms or other set standards. These form the essential parts of a legitimate version of that document.

False documents: This document is originally owned by another person. The fraudster tries to utilize it to authenticate himself.

Modified documents: This signifies an ingenious document which has been altered. This is where the fraudsters change the font and writing style to manipulate the system.

The online identity verification software can distinguish between all sorts of duplicate documents. Ex: fake, illegitimate, and counterfeit documents. The digital document verification is about 98.39% accurate. Much more precise than traditional manual document verification. It also saves time and resources, allowing customers to verify themselves in the comfort of their homes and offices within a few seconds.

Databases & negative lists

The next step after document verification is a background check for AML compliance. A name is screened against multiple sources and databases to reveal anything suspicious or risky. The sources can be:

  • Government Databases

A person is accurately identified by tallying information on their ID and publicly available government databases. A PAN card database is maintained by the central government. Aadhaar data is centrally based, with the central database resting with UIDAI. For entities, databases exist like the Registrar of Companies maintained by the Ministry Of Corporate Affairs. There are databases according to profession for Chartered Accountants, lawyers, government officials etc.

  • Negative Lists

Negative database APIs are used to see if the name appears on any black lists.

  • AML/ CFT

As per Reserve Bank of India guidelines, banks are required to ensure that before opening any new accounts, proposed customers do not appear in the United Nations’ List under Security Council Resolutions (1267) and the terrorist lists circulated by RBI. Other lists include Interpol Most Wanted, Central Bureau of Investigation, Lists issued under other Resolutions by the United Nations. The FATF blacklist or OECD blacklist is furnished by the by the FATF of the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) from 2000, and highlights the countries which OECD judges to be non-cooperative in the global initiative against money laundering and terrorist financing, dubbing them as “Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories” (NCCTs).

  • Sanction lists

Financial sanctions form a crucial aspect of the global fight against financial crime and are harnessed by governments across the globe to restrict or prohibit trade with foreign targets which are involved, or suspected of being involved, in illegal activities. Governments and financial authorities globally maintain a diverse range of targeted sanctions lists. An example of a sanctions list includes the United States’ Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) List.

Some other examples include:

UN Security Council Sanctions

The Security Council maintained by the United nations can authorize action to maintain or restore international peace and security under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter. Sanctions measures, under Article 41, constitute a wide range of enforcement protocols that do not involve the use of armed force. Internationally, these sanctions also constitute AML/CFT regulations.

Her Majesty’s Treasury Sanctions List

The HM Treasury Sanctions List possesses the demographics (and other identifying information) of individuals/entities who are subject to UK regulations. Those sanctions comprise freezing of assets and market access restrictions — these are in tandem with UK AML/CFT policy. They are designed to curb criminal behavior from regimes around the world.

Bureau of Security & Industry

The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is a security agency under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Commerce. This organization specializes in issues involving national security and high-level technology. The primary objective for the bureau is helping stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as enhancing the growth of US exports.

Interpol Most Wanted List

The International Criminal Police Organization, commonly known as INTERPOL, is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime control. Headquartered in Lyon, France, it has seven regional bureaus worldwide and a National Central Bureau in all 194 member states, making it the world’s largest police organization.INTERPOL maintains a most wanted database and this can contain millions of records with information on individuals such as names and fingerprints; stolen property such as passports and vehicles; and weapons and threats such as firearms.

Central Bureau Of Investigation

The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is one of the primary investigating agencies of India. The organization falls under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions. The agency is renowned for investigating several economic offenses, special crimes, charges of corruption and other high-profile cases. Similar to Interpol, the CBI database also contains criminal information pertaining to AML/CFT data.

Signzy adheres to the above mentioned global sanction lists along with hundreds of other databases, making our products and solutions globally compliant.

  • PEP (politically exposed persons) lists

In financial regulation, a politically exposed person (PEP) denotes an individual who has been entrusted with a distinct public function. A PEP ideally is a higher risk for possible involvement in bribery and corruption by virtue of their position and the influence that they may possess.

  • Panama Papers

11.5m files from the database of the world’s fourth-biggest offshore law firm, Mossack Fonseca, were leaked in 2016. The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) revealed with the documents how the rich and famous exploited secretive offshore tax regimes. With AI-based screening profiles from the data can be cleansed, and curated, revealing entities with negative information. A risk profile can then be created from the information.

Why is such a list important?

If a client possesses an offshore company, it’s quite possible that they are doing so to avoid taxes — or, even worse, so they can hide the flow of potentially illegal money. This could result in non-compliance and reputational risk. Financial institutions can decide if they want to accept the customer. If accepted, the client would be placed in the high-risk segment, with advanced due diligence.

Adverse Media & Negative news

This can include going through TBs of data from online sites, printed media sources to expose any negative news on the entity or individual.

Benefits of an Online Identity Verification system

  • Automated document forensics with accurate results
  • Real-time analysis with results within seconds
  • ID verification for one or more types of the connected device (mobile, tablet, kiosk, PC)
  • Facial recognition to match the photo on the ID with the person presenting the card
  • Faster enrollment using automatic form fill/pre-fill using ID data
  • Integration with back-office for audit optimization

AML at Signzy:

WorldWatch Risk Screening APIs: This API covers background checks and risk screening through AML/CFT, Politically Exposed People. It also conducts Negative Media checks for individuals as well as entities globally. This data is refreshed every 24 hours. This is because the search results are the most up-to-date information. The data is available from over 8000+ watch lists and sanctions sources globally. The APIs also include monitoring facilities to receive regular alerts.

About Signzy

Signzy is a market-leading platform redefining the speed, accuracy, and experience of how financial institutions are onboarding customers and businesses – using the digital medium. The company’s award-winning no-code GO platform delivers seamless, end-to-end, and multi-channel onboarding journeys while offering customizable workflows. In addition, it gives these players access to an aggregated marketplace of 240+ bespoke APIs that can be easily added to any workflow with simple widgets.

Signzy is enabling ten million+ end customer and business onboarding every month at a success rate of 99% while reducing the speed to market from 6 months to 3-4 weeks. It works with over 240+ FIs globally, including the 4 largest banks in India, a Top 3 acquiring Bank in the US, and has a robust global partnership with Mastercard and Microsoft. The company’s product team is based out of Bengaluru and has a strong presence in Mumbai, New York, and Dubai.

Visit www.signzy.com for more information about us.

You can reach out to our team at reachout@signzy.com

Written By:

Signzy

Written by an insightful Signzian intent on learning and sharing knowledge.

 

 

Automating Online KYC The Intelligent Way Using IPA

Posted on | by Signzian

KYC or Know Your Customer has been a crucial process in the banking sector for onboarding customers. However, traditional KYC involved several manual steps for the unique identification of the client. These steps were time-consuming, tedious and added to the expenses of the institutions. A report by X-Infotech states that banks across the world spend around $500 million yearly on KYC compliance. Financial Institutions (FIs) have also been additionally fined over $12 billion over violations of KYC and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) regulations since 2009. [1]

In a world where entities are ramping up online, digital authentication of one’s identity has become a necessity. With the pandemic taking the contactless process to a different level, institutions started to adapt themselves to a more efficient and cost-effective solution- Online KYC.

Online KYC has helped institutions verify the identities of their customers while at the same time providing them with a simple, secure, and compliant solution. It has provided customers with ease of moving through and completing the long process within minutes. In this blog, we discuss the challenges and benefits of the process.

Scrutinising Initial Challenges Of Digital Onboarding

Traditional onboarding involves several steps for the unique identification of the client. For a long time, in-person verification of the client’s identity was a must to ensure authenticity. Visiting the bank branch, face-to-face meetings and manual verification of documents was time taking. Along with this, it also left room for errors and a higher client dropout rate.

A lengthy onboarding process burdens the financial institutions. Online KYC helped make this process faster, secure and more efficient. However, there were many initial challenges that delayed the shift from offline to online. Some of these challenges included-

Lack of compatibility and compliance-
One of the major challenges of digital onboarding is the fact that users might have various devices with different internet bandwidth. In areas of weaker internet connection, onboarding can prove to be challenging. Different institutions can have their own set of regulations and specifications. This disparity and lack of standardization make the process confusing for customers with many accounts.

Inconsistency in recording data-
Outdated recorded data can prove to be a hurdle in the verification process. Performing accurate, efficient and verifications is central to maintaining a solid customer base and establishing a brand as a trusted service provider.

Privacy risks-
Verifying the information by a single FI and then using the same with others seems an efficient plan. But this also puts the information at higher cyber risk. Both global regulators and stakeholders expect that this will increase customer risk. Basic credentials and personal data on credit history involves many security risks. This might expose personal data to the very real threat of digital hacks.

Fraudulent-
Scamsters posing as officials have duped people of money. They usually do it by gaining remote access to the victim’s mobile phone screens through an app. They hack into the victim’s account by telling that their KYC needs validation.

 

Curbing Hurdles And Adapting To A New Way Of Banking

A report on RPA by Capgemini states that onboarding takes 24–30 days on an average. The same report also states that 9 out of 10 customers were not satisfied with their bank’s KYC processes. [3] As a result of which, they had to switch banks. IPA (Intelligent Process Automation) solutions can help FIs optimize their operations. These will help in reducing the costs and improve the accuracy of data verification. Emphasis on online KYC regulations ensures businesses with an efficient experience.

  • According to a study by CACI, by 2022 customer physical visits to their retail bank branches will drop by 36%. Mobile transactions will also see a rise of 121% in the same period as reported by x-infotech. The same report also estimates that 88% of all interactions will be mobile by 2022. [1]
  • Financial institutions are now moving towards remote and online verification processes.
  • Automated biometric verification and video conferencing tools provide a secure and efficient alternative to the traditional KYC method. A smooth, hassle-free client experience helps institutions grow their revenue.
  • A report by Acuity Market Intelligence estimates that 1.9 billion bank customers will adopt biometrics for financial services by 2020. [1]

Combining AI + RPA to Transform Onboarding using IPA

Financial Institutions have now started to address this anomaly and have started to adapt themselves to the ever-evolving technology. This helps them make the process efficient for both themselves and their clients.

  • IPA blends AI and RPA to create solutions that perform unstructured tasks efficiently. It shouldn’t be viewed as completely different from RPA (Robotic Process Automation) but rather an upgrade to it.
  • IPA is capable of handling complex processes to provide a seamlessly integrated framework. It uses image recognition and Optical Character Recognition (OCR) to understand, recognise and process the data according to the required task.
  • Introducing IPA (Intelligent Process Automation) can help cut down the probability of error and manual efforts of conducting repetitive steps.

Here is a list of benefits of IPA and how it is transforming the KYC process-

A smooth client onboarding solution

The faster process can allow financial institutions (FIs) to add value to their client services. The consistent and smooth customer experience can benefit them to transact or trade. eKYC reduces the manual efforts spent on collecting the client’s documents. Faster client onboarding proves to be an effective way of revenue generation.

Reduction in operational time and cost

An automated and standardised process reduces the inefficient steps in onboarding customers. Institutions can review and store the data. This reduces contact points and client drop-out rates. Capgemini reports that a centralised source could help the financial institutions save crucial back-office hours. It also helps and reduces costs by up to 50%.[3]

Increased operational accuracy

Manual entry of data can often lead to errors. This can amount to application rejection and loss of office hours and resources. eKYC registration online eliminates that risk. Accurate and secure storage of data helps combat the issue.

Better regulatory compliance and a holistic digital transformation

Financial institutions can harness better relationships with their clients. The details are up to date and transparent. This leads to better business partnerships and networks.

Quick ROI And Employee Satisfaction

Capgemini reports that the return on investment (ROI) on RPA implementations is as short as six to nine months [3]. Reduction in the manual processing of data helps in the reassignment of higher value tasks to the back-office staff. Allocation of new and improved objectives improves the work-life balance of employees.

How is Signzy providing a solution to these challenges?

Signzy’s AI-based solutions offer a simple, secure KYC collection process to financial institutions. We provide digital onboarding services to over 70+ financial institutions including 7 major banks in India. After implementing our solution, our clients have seen-

1. 75% reduction in operational costs,
2. 66% reduction in customer dropout
3. 3x increase in sales

Here are the overall benefits of our digital onboarding products-

Better compliance and compatibility-
Our services are compliant with the latest regulations. Through our smart AI-enabled onboarding solutions, we offer our clients to customize their workflow according to their needs. In addition, these solutions are compatible with most user devices. They have proven to be effective over various platforms, browsers and low-internet scenarios. This offers the users a seamless onboarding experience. Customers receive notifications about the required documents for the verification beforehand. Clients can schedule a time for verification through VideoKYC.

Improved BackOps, better efficiency-
Our Patented AI reduces 90% Backops effort. This makes the onboarding of investors effective. The details of the customer are extracted from the identification document uploaded by them using advanced extraction services. These details are then verified against forged data using Signzy’s proprietary technology.

Reduction of TAT-
The traditional method of KYC involves the submission of a lot of documents. Followed by processing and verification by several departments and their officers. This can be a time-consuming process. The automated process of VideoKYC saves a lot of time. Real-time verification of documents reduces the hassle of collecting photocopies.

Better background checks-
A unique set of APIs does comprehensive credit checks against potential frauds. Through advanced AI technology, we have been on the frontline of providing credible background checks. Some of which, for instance, include-

  • Document recognition- Real-time PAN verification extracts the data from the displayed ID proof by the customer. At the same time, it verifies the data against digital forgery, frauds or risks.
  • Video liveliness check- Video forensics detects pre-recorded videos and potential spoofs.
  • Image and video forgery- Face on the ID is matched against the face in the video and a match (or confidence) percentage is shown.

Best-in-class data protection and privacy-

The data shared on our platform is end-to-end encrypted. Our platform prevents leakage of data and malicious activities by any third party. Our video conferencing tool allows recording and the safe storage of calls for call audits. Any breach of privacy can be understood during auditing.

Conclusion

Today, a lot of financial institutions are heading the automation way. Yet, there are still some exploring the scope of it. Ever-changing regulations and policies in the KYC process appear as a hurdle. This creates challenges for both financial institutions and their clients. A standardised process will help FIs with better client onboarding solutions. While such problems may continue in the future, IPA solutions hold the potential to combat such issues. Digital Onboarding is simple and secure and at the same time provides a seamless customer experience.

About Signzy

Signzy is a market-leading platform redefining the speed, accuracy, and experience of how financial institutions are onboarding customers and businesses – using the digital medium. The company’s award-winning no-code GO platform delivers seamless, end-to-end, and multi-channel onboarding journeys while offering customizable workflows. In addition, it gives these players access to an aggregated marketplace of 240+ bespoke APIs that can be easily added to any workflow with simple widgets.

Signzy is enabling ten million+ end customer and business onboarding every month at a success rate of 99% while reducing the speed to market from 6 months to 3-4 weeks. It works with over 240+ FIs globally, including the 4 largest banks in India, a Top 3 acquiring Bank in the US, and has a robust global partnership with Mastercard and Microsoft. The company’s product team is based out of Bengaluru and has a strong presence in Mumbai, New York, and Dubai.

Visit www.signzy.com for more information about us.

You can reach out to our team at reachout@signzy.com

Written By:

Signzy

Written by an insightful Signzian intent on learning and sharing knowledge.

 

Video KYC

Video KYC: A game-changer for Non-Banking Sector

Posted on | by Signzian

It isn’t just the finance and banking sector that is going digital. Every aspect of our lives, every industry we can fathom is undergoing a digital transformation. From the comfort of one’s home, a car can be rented, a fiancé found, a house booked, and a loan taken. The common prerequisite for each of these pursuits is verifying that the person is exactly who they say they are. (A little more than) a click of a button can authenticate the user with the help of a remote id verification service. Irrespective of workflow, the Know-Your-Customer (KYC) process is shifting to the digital for each step, end-to-end.

The Need for online ID verification & Video KYC

With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing everyone into their homes, there is a growing need for an efficient, cost-cutting paperless system. A system where the person seeking the service never has to come in contact with the organization providing it.

The problem NBFCs are facing

Due to the privacy judgment by the Supreme Court, Non-Banking Financial Companies (NBFCs) are not mandated to use Aadhaar eKYC as a means to simplify onboarding. This creates a gap for a simple, secure, and compliant solution.

The Precedent: Video KYC in India

On 9 January 2020, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) approved Aadhaar-based video authentication as an alternative to e-KYC. Now banks and other lending institutions regulated by the RBI can adopt a Video-based Customer Identification Process (V-CIP). It is a consent-based alternative method of id verification for customer onboarding.

The amendment to the KYC norms are a great way to push digital financial inclusion. The benefits of VideoKYC for banks are often discussed. But, what many fail to see is the future VideoKYC holds for non-bank institutions.

Non-banks, whether performing a financial function or not, can adopt VideoKYC as a solution to all their onboarding challenges. This blog will discuss the different industries that can adopt VideoKYC. It will also delve into the regulatory paths that exist, and those that can be potentially created to include NBFCs and non-financial institutions in the VideoKYC revolution.

The Potential Paths of KYC in India

Video KYC can fill in the gap of a simple, secure, and compliant solution for NBFCs. It is also useful to various non-financial institutions. It boils down providing a faster solution for all those sectors that erstwhile used electronic form filling.

RBI is the regulator of banking in India. Currently, different bodies regulate different finance related aspects carried out by non-banks. The future can only hold one of two options:

  1. The potential of non-bank financial institutions regulated by the RBI
  2. The current situation of non-banks not regulated by the RBI but other specific authorities

Either way, VideoKYC can be freely used by the following without any regulatory roadblocks:

Regulated non-bank institutions

The following 4 functions are financial in nature and the non-bank institutions performing them are currently regulated by different authorities.

  1. Asset Management Companies (Regulated by the Securities and Exchange Board of India): The VideoKYC onboarding customer journey allows full KYC, AML/CFT and authentication resulting in significant reduction of costs. Apart from individuals, it can also be beneficial to onboard non-individuals such as SMEs. The solution eliminates back and forth to reduce onboarding time.
  2. Insurance (Regulated by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority): Technologies such as a livliness check and digital fraud detection enable an enhanced user experience and reduces digital risk in the insurance arena.
  3. Lending: Using VideoKYC for the SME lending process can result in faster decision making and improved user experience. It can also be used for other forms of lending by NBFCs such as individual retail lending.
  4. Payments: KYC had been a primary barrier for mobile wallet companies who were relying on Aadhaar to onboard customers. They had to resort to cumbersome traditional processes. Video KYC can streamline the clunkiness of this experience.

Non Financial institutions

  1. Telecom industry: Authentication of a user is imperative to be issued a SIM card. Till now a physical visit to the service provider was mandatory to activate the SIM card. With the safe, contactless option of VideoKYC now in existence, the telecom industry should switch to this method of id verification.
  2. Rental/shared vehicle economy: Players like Ola Money which had a firm base of users using their wallet to pay for cab rides, had to perform the full KYC ritual to keep their accounts operational when eKYC was banned. With RBI accepting Video KYC as a potential alternative for digital KYC in 2020, Signzy’s Video KYC technology has the potential to provide the solution.
  3. Co-working spaces: Co-working spaces have been cropping up in the past few years. For the safety of all those working under one roof, KYC is done. Like any other long-drawn out process, VideoKYC can help reduce the time it takes to begin working from one’s new work place.
  4. Co-living and accomodation rentals: Driven mainly by urbanisation, the lack of affordable housing and technological innovation, co-living is gaining popularity. Documents may take time to be verified due to obstacles like blurred images or the possibility of forgery. A trustable solution must be used for the peace of mind of all tenants and VideoKYC is the best solution in the foreseeable future.
  5. Consumer goods rentals: Rental companies also follow the same approach where the owner never meets the buyer. In order to authenticate users, KYC collection and id verification is a must. But traditional forms of KYC collection can be cumbersome and require a lot of manpower, time and infrastructure. Just like every other paragraph in this blog, we cannot stress enough how much easier VideoKYC can make this.
  6. Educational platforms & exams: Although not used as widely as other sectors yet, with homeschooling now a forced practical reality for many students worldwide, VideoKYC can be used to onboard students to a new platform for learning. It can prevent cheating in competitive exams ensuring the person taking the exam isn’t someone else.
  7. Gaming: Cybersecurity and fraud are a huge concern for the gaming world. With money at stake, KYC is important to detect and shut down fake accounts and fraudsters.
  8. Dating and matrimonial sites: Trust is the foundation of any relationship or marriage. To get to that stage the user must trust the platform they are using to find their significant other. VideoKYC can ensure all suitors are exactly who they claim to be online.

But, why exactly are we calling Video KYC the future? You can find out through this blog.

Whether you are a bank or a non-bank, VideoKYC provides id verification solutions for any industry. Signzy’s VideoKYC solution has matured over dialects, browsers and low-internet scenarios. Use our new-age trust protocol to improve customer experience, cut down costs, and simplify onboarding. It will soon become a multi-industry standard. Adopt it to stay ahead of the curve.

About Signzy

Signzy is a market-leading platform redefining the speed, accuracy, and experience of how financial institutions are onboarding customers and businesses – using the digital medium. The company’s award-winning no-code GO platform delivers seamless, end-to-end, and multi-channel onboarding journeys while offering customizable workflows. In addition, it gives these players access to an aggregated marketplace of 240+ bespoke APIs that can be easily added to any workflow with simple widgets.

Signzy is enabling ten million+ end customer and business onboarding every month at a success rate of 99% while reducing the speed to market from 6 months to 3-4 weeks. It works with over 240+ FIs globally, including the 4 largest banks in India, a Top 3 acquiring Bank in the US, and has a robust global partnership with Mastercard and Microsoft. The company’s product team is based out of Bengaluru and has a strong presence in Mumbai, New York, and Dubai.

Visit www.signzy.com for more information about us.

You can reach out to our team at reachout@signzy.com

Written By:

Signzy

Written by an insightful Signzian intent on learning and sharing knowledge.

 

Video KYC, How to Choose the Right Video KYC

Posted on | by Signzian

The finance and banking sector is becoming increasingly digitized and globally accessible. Consequently, we are witnessing a sharp surge in the demand for remote identification services. The goal of KYC video identification services is to make life easy for banks and their customers.

The financial institutions of India face a number of issues. KYC and other compliance processes are a couple of them. At present, there are quite a few solutions provided by fintechs for digital transformation in the market. These are stable and secure enough for financial companies to adopt right off the board.

The Need for a Global Digital Trust System

Since the world is getting more and more connected, people today want to access services from the comfort of their homes. When it comes to the identification process, carrying out banking procedures becomes a hassle in these scenarios.

This is where ID Identification comes in. A KYC video identification process allows banks and other financial institutions to verify customers while onboarding them through video over the Internet.

This is an attractive option for financial companies. It eliminates security vulnerabilities and minimizes loopholes. Identity frauds deter our growth as a financial institution and as a nation. This will allow financial companies to build a global network of customers.

Used effectively, KYC video identification can help speed up customer onboarding. And, it helps with KYC/AML compliances. Online video KYC eliminates security gaps by combining human scrutiny with both software and AI and ML-enabled learning.

Use Cases and Applications of Video KYC

Video KYC has started it’s journey across the financial services industry. Institutions like banks, lenders, investor onboarding and ICO’s have shown a great interest in the potential of VideoKYC.

A KYC video identification system can allow all of these organizations to maintain excellent standards of compliance and trust while not compromising on the customer experience.

The Challenges with Legacy KYC Process

Traditionally the KYC process has been tedious and cumbersome in terms of:

  • Maintaining physical documents that occupy space, take time, and utilize manpower.
  • Processing documents offline which brings with it the threat of misuse of documents.
  • Delays in processing the files hamper the customer experience. Usually known as increases in the turnaround time (TAT).
  • In-person verification: Requires the person’s availability and beats the globalization of financial services.

The time and cost involved in the legacy KYC process hamper the efficiency of a banker. You can choose to eliminate this hindrance by using video KYC.

Choosing the right KYC Video solution

There are quite a few solutions available in the market that promise to transform the traditional KYC process and upgrade it. We encourage you to look for these indicators to make sure your investment in a video KYC solution brings maximum ROI.

  • The solution should an offer exceptional face match score. Comparing the following two will help to eliminate the possibility of any fraudulent activity:
    1. Photo identity submitted by the customer, and
    2. The real-time video session.
  • The solution should have AI and ML embedded to detect and eliminate static photographs or pre-recorded videos.
  • The offering should also be able to check the liveliness of the user by carrying out a speech test. This is where the user is prompted to speak a series of numbers or words which is then matched with the audio recorded on the live streaming.
  • The solution should be integrated with video forensics to detect tampering or misuse of any nature.
  • The software should be easy to implement with an API, SDK, and a webcam for video KYC.
  • The proposed offering should have a quick turnaround time and should ideally take only a few minutes to complete the verification process.
  • An added provision of completely automating the video KYC process should also be a part of the solution.
  • The solution is 100% compliant with the local regulations.
  • The proposed solution can reduce overheads and backlogs in operations by upto 70%.
  • Installation and usage is hassle free for most users as the solution is platform agnostic and follows a Plug-n-Play approach.
  • A seamless interface provides a superior customer experience for a competitive advantage in the market.
  • A vibrant, engaging solution reduces customer drop-offs by upto 50%.

Paperless video KYC can empower financial organizations and change the way customers are treated and brought onboard.

How Does Video KYC Work?

  1. The customer fills up a registration form on your website.
  2. The customer provides relevant document identities such as National IDs, driver’s licenses or Passports.
  3. A customer verification specialist connects with the customer on video, or an automated process is triggered for video KYC.
  4. Using their smartphone or a webcam, the customer can be directed through the video KYC process in a seamless manner.
    (To completely eliminate any chances of error, along with AI and ML, facial recognition technology can be leveraged here.)
  5. Once the documents are verified and the user is identified over a live video, they are sent back to the bank’s website. Next, the user can submit the process of onboarding.

Advantages of Video KYC for Financial Companies

Financial institutions stand only to gain from Video KYC solutions.

  • Save time —  Video KYC speeds up the onboarding process significantly. It allows you to process more applications at the same time and increase revenue. Also, you eliminate the need to train your staff on identity verifications because you have an automated system helping you with it.
  • Save money — Identity frauds can cost you money. Video KYC procedures save time and keep fraudulent people at bay.
  • Compliance — Meet the necessary Anti-money laundering and Know Your Customer compliances with a video KYC software that already complies with the Indian regulations.
  • Improve security — Video KYC software solutions are powered by AI, ML, and facial recognition technology. These are far superior and secure alternatives to traditional KYC processes.
  • Gather data — With video KYC, you can record all conversations and keep this data for future reference.

Video KYC Solution from Signzy

With the KYC video solution we offer, you can:

  • Match the provider of documents with their identity on the documents through face match algorithms.
  • Build trust with the customer through a live video feed.
  • Verify the actual documents with forgery detection algorithms.
  • Trust the document provider with algorithmic risk intelligence.

When our first client used our video KYC product for customer onboarding, they achieved jaw-dropping results:

  • Reduced TAT by 55%
  • Slashed rejections from 9% to 2%
  • Increased sales productivity three times.

Signzy is now completely integrated into the core customer onboarding process of over 15 enterprises in the BFSI sector.

Use our new-age trust protocol to improve customer experience, cut down costs, and simplify onboarding.

About Signzy

Signzy is a market-leading platform redefining the speed, accuracy, and experience of how financial institutions are onboarding customers and businesses – using the digital medium. The company’s award-winning no-code GO platform delivers seamless, end-to-end, and multi-channel onboarding journeys while offering customizable workflows. In addition, it gives these players access to an aggregated marketplace of 240+ bespoke APIs that can be easily added to any workflow with simple widgets.

Signzy is enabling ten million+ end customer and business onboarding every month at a success rate of 99% while reducing the speed to market from 6 months to 3-4 weeks. It works with over 240+ FIs globally, including the 4 largest banks in India, a Top 3 acquiring Bank in the US, and has a robust global partnership with Mastercard and Microsoft. The company’s product team is based out of Bengaluru and has a strong presence in Mumbai, New York, and Dubai.

Visit www.signzy.com for more information about us.

You can reach out to our team at reachout@signzy.com

Written By:

Signzy

Written by an insightful Signzian intent on learning and sharing knowledge.

 

Digital KYC

Digital KYC: Transforming Credit Card Onboarding

Posted on | by Signzian

Digital KYC, with its innovative approach to customer verification, is ushering in a new era for credit card onboarding. By marrying state-of-the-art technology with traditional Know Your Customer procedures, it promises a more efficient, rapid, and secure experience for both financial institutions and their customers. This transformative tool not only optimizes the application and approval processes but also bolsters trust and regulatory compliance. As we venture further into the digital age, the profound influence of Digital KYC on reshaping the credit card landscape becomes ever more apparent. Join us in exploring this remarkable shift in the financial sector.

The financial services marketplace is extremely competitive. As such, acquiring new credit card customers is never easy. The task of successful customer onboarding is often even tougher. Many documents around company credentials and financial statements need verification. The KYC onboarding process is required to meet complex regulatory requirements.

The nature of the documents required for KYC onboarding of a new credit card application can be complex. This often leads to interactions between the sales teams and the customer. Getting the correct documents to complete the KYC onboarding often causes unexpected delays. This leads to poor customer experience and a loss of revenue for the company. Another important aspect is a lack of digital automation in the KYC onboarding process. This leads to longer onboarding cycle times. The resulting delays negatively impact customer experience. The subsequent outcome is a loss of revenue for the card company. This is because customers cannot be charged until they start using their cards.

Challenges For Customer Onboarding For Credit Card Applications

An article by FintechFutures highlights the Forrester Consulting survey. It predicts that on average, clients are contacted ten times during the KYC onboarding process. The clients are asked to submit between five and up to a hundred documents. Also, it costs up to $25,000 per client, with the average cost calculated at $6,000 per new client. The following are the challenges of the current process:

The lack of structured process

KYC onboarding needs to follow different processes. This can be across departments such as credit, legal and operational. The tricky part is that every compliance officer (or compliance department) might have their own interpretation of regulations. Thus, they end up having their own process specific to their own department/entity within the bank. It also means that they will have three different interpretations of regulations/processes. Moreover, customers are likely to get confused on why they need to provide the same information at several points of the process. This information can be duplicated in nature for several different parties.

Changing regulations

In today’s world, KYC regulations are changing on a monthly or weekly basis. Hence, banks need to adapt their systems accordingly. They need time to explain to the client why new changes are happening. They must also ensure that the changes are amended in the KYC digital onboarding process. Due to endless regulations, banks need to re-visit current operations/processes. They must now rely on new technology initiatives. For ex: process reengineering, digital transformation etc to make themselves compliant.

Culture

Financial institutions always tend to have a close relationship with their clients. Underinvestment in strategic opportunities (such as KYC onboarding) is still missing. This is along with the drive to understand customers changing needs and market dynamics. McKinsey conducted a recent survey among the global executives across the world. In the report, culture accounts for 33% among the most significant barriers to digital effectiveness.

Access

With modern technology, banks are getting increasing pressure to do everything on a real-time basis. For example, a customer expects that everything needs to be available on mobile. This can help them avoid visiting the branch and accessing the app from anywhere at any point. Modern banks are still using legacy systems. This leads to a challenge in providing customers with an end-to-end digital experience. With advancements like robotic process automation (RPA), banks can easily overcome this hurdle.

Time-consuming processes

The entire process of KYC onboarding can be very time-consuming. This is due to the vast number of documents needed, multiple touch points and departments involved in the process. Also, it changes for every entity within an organization. For example, a bank has three different entities: corporate, retail and insurance businesses. These can cater to different types of businesses/customers.

Quality

As per PwC, the remediation exercise of the customer has shown that due diligence process varies from each and every entity, from country to country. Thus, the quality of the experience can vary to a very large extent within one financial services entity. So if a customer visits the same bank in Singapore and India, their KYC onboarding experience will vary. I understand a lot of processes are country specific, but that is something which needs to be addressed.

The Need For Speed In Digital Onboarding

Onboarding digital banking customers is a real pain point for banks offering credit cards. This affects user experience by a great deal. Banks heavily invest in attracting new customers. They also talk to existing clients for additional facilities. The challenge here is that with product application workflows are slow and complicated. Another factor is that a poor KYC onboarding process can seriously undermine these efforts.

  • According to a Marketforce survey, onboarding a new customer takes less than 10 minutes at 32% of incumbent banks. However, it still requires more than 24 hours at 19% of financial institutions.
  • Almost 39% of respondents can’t even onboard entirely on digital channels.
  • An astonishing 40% of banking consumers abandon their application, according to a survey by Signicat.
  • Approximately 39% give up because the process drags on too long, while 34% drop off because too much personal information is required.

This calls for an efficient, digital KYC onboarding which not only provides efficiency, but also speed. Simply taking the process online is not the only contributing factor to this. Most customers require an experience like Netflix or Uber — where efficiency as well as time coalesce.

Fighting Frauds With Digital KYC onboarding

E-commerce fraud is becoming more and more widespread and sophisticated. It is a concern for online retailers around the globe. This risk exists because it can be difficult to verify the identity of who is using the card in an online setting. Asking for the card security codes (the 3–4 digit code features on the back of credit and debit cards) is a good preventative measure. Unfortunately, it isn’t always enough.

  • In a survey by Experian, 63% of US businesses reported fraudulent losses in 2018.
  • Reports from Juniper Research that online retailers are set to lose an estimated $130 billion between 2018 and 2023 in digital card-not-present (CNP) fraud.
  • A study by Javelin Strategy & Research in 2018 showed that CNP fraud is 81% more likely to occur than “card-present” in-store credit card fraud.

In its most general terms, credit card fraud refers to a fraudster making a transaction with an online business. This can be done through illicit means mostly by:

  1. Stolen credit card information
  2. Stolen ID
  3. Fake credit card details

The preferred and most convenient way to prevent this is KYC. Many banks, insurance companies, and other types of financial institutions have a KYC onboarding procedure in place. This ensures that their customers and clients are who they say they are. It also helps these institutions to get to know their customers. The companies can also verify whether clients are involved in any illegal activities. Ex: money laundering or bribery.

Implementing the KYC onboarding process stops online fraud before it can happen. It typically involves providing one or more documents to the institution that confirms their identity. These documents can include:

  • Government ID
  • Drivers License
  • Passport
  • Aadhaar Card

In addition, KYC verification compares the collected data against several AM/CFT databases. It also conducts checks for forged documents and bogus information. This makes KYC onboarding the perfect tool for combating frauds.

Make The Plastic Fantastic — Digitizing The Credit Card Application process

Competition is fierce when it comes to credit card issuing. Many of the traditional approaches to differentiation are losing effectiveness. Interest rates have evened out across cards. Large issuers continue to capture a bigger share of transactions. However smaller issuers are gaining market share in outstandings by bringing portfolios back in house and developing highly targeted customer-management campaigns.

From customer acquisition to onboarding to payments, the digital channel is becoming the most effective way to engage cardholders. It enables issuers to enhance the customer experience. It also helps set the stage for the use of big data and advanced analytics techniques. This can help improve decision making.

  • McKinsey research highlights that clients are willing to engage digitally, and often start their journey via digital channels.
  • More than 80% of US-based customers research credit cards online before acquisition.
  • More than 25% customers get personal recommendations via social networks to keep them updated on purchase decisions.
  • About 28% of credit card sales are made through digital channels, and two-thirds of the clients activate their new cards online.

Two major areas to be covered for digitizing customer experience are:

  • Customer acquisition, which specifically involves converting clients from consideration to the application phase. It includes getting them through the approval process in the real-time digital surroundings.
  • Customer onboarding after an application for a credit card is approved. From the customer’s point of view, the days that follow are either full of pain points or lacking in any kind of contact with the issuer that might help cement the new relationship.

Digital KYC Onboarding for Credit Card Application Process  — The Game Changer

The first step in building a relationship with a new client is enhancing the application procedure to be simple, seamless, and quick. The fewer the fields to complete, the faster the application. For example, applicants can enter their demographic information via their smartphone camera. This can be used for verification through facial recognition. Some issuers have managed to cut completion times by up to a third. They have also raised completion rates by more than a quarter. In addition, an increase in digital applications by 40% is acheived by simplifying the application process.

The second step involves engaging new clients so they use their card early and often so that usage becomes a habit. For example, In India, most credit cards require holders to spend a particular denomination in the first 90 days to qualify for reward miles. An analysis by McKinsey shows that the long-term value of a client is up to 3x greater when they are engaged frequently in the first 90 days. However, many issuers assign only about a fifth of their marketing budget to this critical time period.

CoronaVirus Crisis — Issuing Credit Cards Online

From the start of the Covid-19 lockdown, loan and card issuers have come to a grinding halt. This is mainly because both require representatives to visit the applicant for paperwork. The resultant decline in business has forced lenders and card issuers to focus on digital lending.

There are plans in motion for users to issue credit cards while sitting at home, with zero paperwork. On approval, the funds will be credited directly into your bank account or the card will be sent to your address.

According to Livemint, the intermediaries, banks and other financial institutions are requesting the regulator and the government to encourage banks to use the Central KYC (CKYC) and Aadhaar-based KYC.

There are also talks of VideoKYC being used for digitizing issuance of credit cards. As per the RBI notification, when lenders are doing V-CIP, an official needs to be present on the other end for verification. The client has to furnish documents to the official over the video during the procedure. Also, it’s a real-time process that needs to be recorded and stored. Further, the online process eliminates the requirement of physical signature. The same process can be applicable for card issuance.

The New Age KYC Technology By Signzy

Signzy offers a unique AI-based electronic KYC solution called RealKYC. It is a comprehensive suite of micro-services that offers smooth onboarding of new applications for credit cards. It also offers risk management and fraud mitigation.

Signzy has also launched its unique VideoKYC solution for real-time verification. This can be done remotely. VideoKYC strictly maintains compliance with RBI and SEBI guidelines. It is a secure, hassle-free tool for onboarding.

Here are 3 major benefits that RealKYC :

  • Hassle-Free Application Approval: When a new application is received for a credit card, it has to be approved by several officials. It undergoes severe scrutiny before the application moves to the back end for processing. With RealKYC, there is no need for back and forth. This is because multiple checks can be performed by officials simultaneously. This makes the process efficient and hassle-free.
  • Credit Checks: Signzy’s unique set of APIs perform comprehensive credit checks against the applicant. This is done to check for worthiness, past default details and so on. which could lead to potential credit risks if the applicant is approved.
  • Background Checks: Real KYC performs in-depth background checks of the credit card applicant. This may include cross-referencing the applicant against multiple AML/CFT databases, negative checks against registered court cases, etc.
  • Real-Time PAN verification with VideoKYC; Signzy’s VideoKYC solution offers real-time PAN verification. This helps authenticate the originality of the document. It also conducts background credit checks against the PAN number.
  • No Photocopies: With VideoKYC, just show the original ID proof and the official on call can take the snapshot as part of KYC proof.

About Signzy

Signzy is a market-leading platform redefining the speed, accuracy, and experience of how financial institutions are onboarding customers and businesses – using the digital medium. The company’s award-winning no-code GO platform delivers seamless, end-to-end, and multi-channel onboarding journeys while offering customizable workflows. In addition, it gives these players access to an aggregated marketplace of 240+ bespoke APIs that can be easily added to any workflow with simple widgets.

Signzy is enabling ten million+ end customer and business onboarding every month at a success rate of 99% while reducing the speed to market from 6 months to 3-4 weeks. It works with over 240+ FIs globally, including the 4 largest banks in India, a Top 3 acquiring Bank in the US, and has a robust global partnership with Mastercard and Microsoft. The company’s product team is based out of Bengaluru and has a strong presence in Mumbai, New York, and Dubai.

Visit www.signzy.com for more information about us.

You can reach out to our team at reachout@signzy.com

Written By:

Signzy

Written by an insightful Signzian intent on learning and sharing knowledge.

 

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