Authentication & Identity

iDenfy Secretary of State tool is the newest addition to the company’s KYB platform, offering automated access to official state records for verifying business registration and status. This new feature helps businesses instantly connect and verify company information across all 50 U.S. states using official Secretary of State records. The new API solution will strive to help high-risk companies, such as fintechs and banks, improve KYB onboarding accuracy and ensure compliance across different states. According to Domantas Ciulde, the CEO of iDenfy, streamlining access to SOS filings helps save time, as manually checking all these databases can be a hassle:  “Our SOS lookup system connects to all U.S. SOS office portals and extracts relevant information about another company in seconds, which is vital for B2B partnerships and KYB compliance. Otherwise, analysts need to look up all portals manually, and it can be confusing, as some companies are registered in one state, while they actually operate in another location.”   Currently, iDenfy’s SOS business search tool simplifies what has traditionally been a fragmented and time-consuming process. The system is able to automatically receive official data from the Secretary of State and compile a short but very detailed  PDF report which summarizes the company’s registration details, legal status, entity type (such as LLC or Corporation), tax ID, registered address, and if any governing person or stakeholder is involved.  iDenfy’s SOS tool also helps to identify potential threats such as inactive entities, missing or inconsistent registration data, and past bankruptcies. These red flags often signal shell companies and suspicious activity. By identifying these risks early, businesses can protect themselves from reputational damage or regulatory fines. Additionally, once a business’s legal data is pulled from the SOS database, it’s automatically cross-checked against other KYB criteria, including sanctions lists, adverse media, and tax ID verification directly from IRS records. For high-risk industries like crypto, this extra layer of security is essential in order to avoid bad actors from unclear companies.

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Worldpay is partnering with Trulioo to introduce new safeguards for AI-powered agent-led commerce. At the core of this collaborative effort is the Know Your Agent (KYA) framework, powered by a Digital Agent Passport. This tamper-proof credential bundle will enable merchants to assess whether an AI agent is legitimate, authorized and acting with proper consent. The KYA framework will lay out structured guidelines for verification of the developer’s identity, code integrity, user consent and the ongoing trustworthiness of the agent in real time. Worldpay will empower merchants to leverage the KYA framework, enabling them to trust shopping agents by validating consumer intent and the authority granted to those agents. This innovation can help merchants grow sales while safeguarding against fraud and unauthorized purchases. The collaboration will help merchants and platforms unlock new experiences, from smarter checkout flows to real-time fraud detection, without sacrificing safety or visibility. Instead of blocking AI agents by default, the partnership will introduce smart controls where verified agents gain access, unknown agents encounter friction, and malicious bots are blocked. This approach will deliver measurable benefits across the entire ecosystem, including reduced fraud, smarter agent detection, and improved checkout conversion for merchants. Consumers will gain confidence that their AI assistants are acting with proper permission, while the broader commerce landscape will benefit from a shared, interoperable layer of trust that supports ongoing innovation and meets regulatory and evolving risk standards.

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More than half of consumers who start a digital bank account application never finish it. One reason the problem persists is that many institutions lack visibility and control. They don’t know how many applications are started, where drop-offs occur, or which follow-up efforts are effective. Just as often, banks and credit unions don’t have the flexibility they need to effectively manage the information-capture sequence: what must be collected before the account is opened versus what can be deferred until after. Asking for too much, too soon — or “questionnaire creep” — can be a major source of friction — requiring applicants to complete more steps than necessary before account opening is completed. The instinct is understandable: In an effort to populate CRM systems or future-proof compliance needs, many institutions request nonessential information. The result is a longer, more cumbersome process at the very point when speed and simplicity matter most.  In FICO study, nearly one-in-five respondents said they would drop out if asked five or more questions. Some steps in account opening must be completed up front — KYC, identity verification, and initial funding are required. Others, such as choosing overdraft protection or setting up companion accounts, can wait until after the account is active, when trust is higher and the customer is more likely to engage. By deferring these steps, some institutions have seen a significant increase in new accounts – upwards of up to 150% in new accounts. Giving institutions control over this sequencing allows them to front-load only what’s necessary and ultimately move applicants to completion faster. Prefill capabilities can also help streamline the experience, ensuring that every step of the workflow is as efficient as possible. Integrated scanning tools can extract and populate information directly from a driver’s license or phone number, while payment integrations can auto-fill fields using data the institution already holds. Each small efficiency matters, especially during funding. Requiring customers to verify microdeposits or complete multiple extra steps can derail momentum. To minimize friction, limit visible data entry to only what’s required and automate the rest through well-chosen integrations. Tools for identity verification, document scanning, and instant funding can eliminate redundant steps without compromising security. Unclear process flows are another culprit. Without clear visibility or a roadmap, applicants get discouraged early, especially when they’re asked for sensitive information without knowing what’s coming next. All of this compounds uncertainty. Awkward or inconsistent user interfaces can exacerbate the problem. Basic design issues — text that doesn’t wrap, buttons that don’t render properly, pages that require too much scrolling — signal to users that the institution is behind the times. And once a digital experience feels awkward, trust starts to erode. Device switching introduces another layer of friction. A user might begin the process on their phone and plan to finish later on a laptop. But if progress isn’t saved or the system can’t hand off seamlessly, they’ll have to start from scratch. In some cases, even reentering information triggers new validation errors. The customer might also wonder whether they will end up with two conflicting records in the system, leading to future errors. Some institutions may see this as a niche problem, but it can be a showstopper, especially when consumers perceive Amazon- or Apple-quality experiences as the norm. A well-executed application should offer true omnichannel support, allowing users to pause and resume across devices — or even pick up where they left off with a banker in the branch or call center. Progress saved at the field level prevents rework and confusion. When done right, these capabilities can support remarkable portfolio growth. Some institutions have reported 37% increases in loan portfolios and 35% increases in deposit portfolios since launching a more modernized application platform.  The account opening workflow may span multiple platforms that weren’t built to work together. In some cases, the online application doesn’t connect to the institution’s core system in real time, requiring manual review or re-entry. Perhaps most surprising of all, many banks and credit unions simply lack visibility into where and why drop-offs occur. Without that data, continuous improvement is impossible.

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Regula has introduced the Regula 7223E, an embedded document reader designed to streamline ID card checks at self-service kiosks and e-gates. This compact scanner is specifically built for ID-1 format documents, such as driver’s licenses and national ID cards, reducing user errors and improving customer experience. Self-service solutions are becoming more common in airports, hotels, and secure facilities. The Regula 7223E solves this problem with: Dual-side scanning in a single step; No-wrong-way card insertion; Automatic ejection after scanning. The result: faster lines, fewer errors, and a smoother process for customers and operators alike. The Regula 7223E is a standalone document reader based on the desktop ID card reader Regula 72X3. It can be used at kiosks, e-gates, or self-service points and is compatible with Regula’s embedded full-page document reader Regula 70X8M. The built-in indicator guides users through the process, improving usability and speeding up verification workflows. The 7223E is backed by Regula Document Reader SDK, a comprehensive document verification software solution that enables multiple automated checks to prove IDs’ authenticity. It draws on Regula’s proprietary identity document template database, which includes over 15,000 templates from 252 countries and territories.

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Fideo Intelligence, the AI-driven identity intelligence platform, has launched Verify, a real-time, AI-powered identity verification and fraud prevention service that detects 47% more fraud than any other platform and cuts costs by 50%. Verify is a true first-of-its-kind dynamic solution that goes far beyond static data collection to create dynamic identity linkages, enabling faster, smarter risk decisions. Unlike traditional systems that rely on static data and patchwork solutions, Fideo Verify delivers a real-time, dynamic risk score unified by eight categories of industry-leading verification checks—each backed by billions of identity signals. The single comprehensive API and risk score is continuously learning from Fideo’s Identity Fraud Intelligence (iFIN) Network of thousands of partners. The result: a comprehensive 360-degree view of identity risk delivered in milliseconds. Verify replaces siloed point solutions with a single API backed by full-spectrum intelligence. Verify’s eight categories of fraud detection include synthetic identity detection and identity graph validation, as well as email risk modeling, phone risk analysis, IP address checks, digital footprint analysis, location anomaly detection, and breach exposure analysis. With each verification point streamlined into one API call, it eliminates redundancies and closes critical, costly gaps that fraudsters exploit. Potential risks identified during early screening are ranked, allowing fraud and risk teams to quickly decide whether to escalate cases to enhanced compliance checks or reject users outright, eliminating unnecessary KYC expenses.

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Heka Funding has successfully closed a $14 million round to grow its real-time identity intelligence platform for banks and other financial institutions. The Heka’s $14 million milestone will help banks and lenders find fraud more easily, streamline compliance, and make decisions based on identity more quickly, all with more confidence and automation. Windare Ventures, Barclays, and other institutional investors back Heka’s AI engine as financial institutions seek stronger defenses against synthetic fraud and identity manipulation. Inspired by the tradecraft of the intelligence community, Heka analyzes publicly available web data to help financial institutions actually understand their customer – beyond what static files can show. Its proprietary AI engine assembles digital profiles that surface alias use, reputational exposure, and behavioral anomalies. This helps financial institutions detect synthetic activity, connect with real customers, and act faster with confidence. At the core of Heka’s web intelligence engine is an analyst-grade AI agent. Unlike legacy tools that rely on static files, scores, or blacklists, Heka’s AI processes large volumes of web data to produce structured outputs like fraud indicators, updated contact details, and contextual risk signals.  Clients use Heka’s intelligence to support critical decisions from fraud mitigation to account management and recovery. 

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