Bitcoin exchange Bitstamp has picked Onfido to provide ID verification during onboarding to meet KYC and other regulations.
The deal aims to help the company scale onboarding efforts and clear its backlog of customer signup requests, which has been created by the upsurge in digital currency interests. Founded in 2011 in the UK, Bitstamp, now based in Luxembourg, has more than three million customers registered on its platform. With demand for digital currency exchanges reaching unprecedented levels, during the period from January to November, overall trading volumes at Bitstamp increased by 1,384%. In December 2017, Bitstamp saw 100,000 customer signups on one day alone.
“Onfido’s powerful machine-learning technology has allowed us to automate our new customer identity verification process, and still maintain our high standards when it comes to KYC,” said Bitstamp CEO, Nejc Kodrič. “We’re already seeing positive results when it comes to speeding up our verification process.”
Headquartered in London, Onfido’s machine learning technology platform automates identity verification for over 1,500 customers worldwide.
Through a photo of an identity document and a mobile camera, users can confirm their identity and gain access to a host of online services, including financial platforms such as Revolut and Square, sharing economy companies such as Couchsurfing, among others.
Founded by three entrepreneurs from Oxford University, Onfido has received over $60m in funding from investors including Microsoft Ventures, Salesforce Ventures and Idinvest Partners.
Onfido CEO and co-founder Husayn Kassai added, “We are quickly becoming the go-to provider for KYC in this space, and are helping make it more secure. We now work with over 30 cryptocurrency companies, allowing them to scale customer onboarding smoothly, and be more vigilant as the digital currency industry faces more scrutiny and regulation.
The interest in ICOs has been matched by the rapid rate of regulations. Japan recently regulated and implemented Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations for cryptocurrency exchanges, while other countries, including the UK and South Korea, are currently working on amending existing and establishing new legislation for ICOs. The Swiss Financial Market Supervisory Authority (FINMA) also recently plans to regulate some ICOs either under anti-money laundering laws or as securities.
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
Copyright © 2018 RegTech Analyst
