Q&A with Steve Munford at Trulioo
The world has evolved since the pandemic hit, and the market has changed. While the need for speed and security remains, there is a growing emphasis on trust. As more transactions move online, it’s imperative that consumers have faith in these processes. Businesses now must balance offering a fast, frictionless experience while keeping security and trust top of mind.
To give a balanced view, both consumers and business decision-makers were interviewed for a 2023 study conducted by Mastercard on how identity verification is shaping their business. This report uncovers the important topics raised by both groups. On one side is consumer trust and protecting consumers against fraud. On the other is the frustration consumers experience with current identity verification processes and how organisations can reduce this friction while protecting the business against fraud.
The study shows that trust is becoming a key focus, with 87% of respondents stating that trusting companies is increasingly important to them. The consequences of fraud are severe for both consumers and organisations, eroding trust and consumer confidence. Additionally, 93% of respondents express concern about the potential for identity theft or being a victim of fraud in the future.1
This highlights the need for organisations to have the right solutions in place. Effective solutions enable smoother identity verification, faster transactions, and greater confidence at every touchpoint.
One of the great things about being at a Money 20/20 Europe event, is that as well as the opportunity to listen to keynote presentations and walk around the exhibition halls is the ability to talk with industry leaders specifically about these current topics.
This year, during Money 20/20 Europe, I took time to talk with Steve Munford, CEO of Trulioo. In an insightful discussion, we explored the current state and dynamics of the identity and business verification domain, and also reviewed some of Trulioo’s recent key client announcements.
Trulioo was founded in 2011 and has its headquarters in Vancouver, Canada. It offers a truly global platform which provides ID verification capabilities in over 195 countries. Trulioo’s investors include Goldman Sachs, American Express Ventures, Citi Ventures and Santander InnoVentures.
The scope and scale of Trulioo’s solution makes them the go–to vendor for many business solution providers. Their platform utilises a single API which allows businesses to confirm the identities of their customers, irrespective of their geographical location and for a variety of identification documents. Identity verification plays a critical role in solving a variety of challenges such as fraud prevention, regulatory compliance, and in enhancing customer experience.
Steve explained to me that a key challenge with verification is that the data needed for personal identity and business verification is very regionalised. Trulioo has worked over time to assemble a global data network. As Trulioo’s customers have expanded into new markets they have followed them, and worked with them, in the process supporting a wider array of data and bringing support for additional documents as required.
In recent weeks, Trulioo has announced two key partnerships, the first being with Mastercard.
This collaboration with Mastercard is significant as it augments Mastercard’s Onboard Risk Check product by including Trulioo’s global business identity verification services. In addition, Trulioo will leverage Mastercard’s Identity solutions to power its Person Match and Risk Intelligence products, providing additional identity insights and risk scores through a customisable, intuitive dashboard.2
Mastercard will leverage Trulioo’s innovative identity verification solutions to streamline digital onboard for both merchants and consumers. At the same time, the solution will help combat fraud.
Steve mentioned that Mastercard and Trulioo both share a similar perspective, since both are seeking to bring together the eight billion people in the global economy and enable consumers and business to successfully work together. Mastercard has a lot of signals and data from their network which can help Trulioo’s customers. Likewise, the business knowledge and reach of Trulioo’s network can also help Mastercard.
The second partnership that Trulioo has announced is with BD Swiss. BD Swiss will leverage Trulioo Person Match and Watchlist Screening capabilities to streamline siloed point solutions and ensure compliance across EMEA, Asia, and the Americas.3 BD Swiss is a leading financial institution that offers Forex and CFD investment services to more than a million clients worldwide, and a monthly trading volume of over $84bn. BS Swiss found that the expertise Trulioo could offer was second to none, especially when considering the reach of the platform.
Steve explained verifying a business’ identity is actually a lot harder than verifying individual consumers. Especially when this KYC need to be updated over the long-term, and the fact that much of the public sector and government data isn’t updated in real-time. Verification involves aspects such as UBO’s, watchlists and sanctions. BD Swiss has found Trulioo to be a valued partner in overcoming these challenges, and both organisations are looking forward to grow together in the coming months and years.
Given AI was such a hot topic at Money 20/20 Europe, we concluded our discussion by looking at its potential to help in this business area. AI is just getting started in helping companies such as Trulioo improve their operational processes. One aspect that AI can help with today is by developing a scoring algorithm for specific document types, learning over time from past data to help make more informed decisions. It’s about asking, “How can I learn from past experiences to make better decisions in the future?”
My discussion with Steve Munford of Trulioo was insightful, highlighting the ways that Trulioo can add value to their customers. As customers seek to enter new markets, establishing trust becomes harder, and compliance becomes more complex. Trulioo is dedicated to help their customers succeed and make these complex challenges of KYC, and KYB easier than they ever have been.
Author: Matt Jones, Commercial Director, London, Payments Consulting Network
With over 15 years in the payments industry, Matt has worked with notable organisations like Barclays and Elavon, as well as startups in the fintech space. His expertise spans diverse commercial sectors, including direct engagements with major merchants and banks. Matt excels in procurement-level insights, adeptly handling pricing models, strategic planning, and competitive analysis. He regularly writes on payments related topics at Payments Culture.
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SOURCES:
3 https://financefeeds.com/bdswiss-taps-trulioo-for-compliant-client-onboarding/
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