Identity verification company Onfido has launched operations in France and will invest €4m into the country to boost its presence there.
A Paris-based office will open its doors in Q1 2019 and will be its seventh office around the world. In order to support its operations, the company is investing €4m over 12 months into the new division.
In addition to this, the RegTech company has signed car rental company Europcar Mobility Group and eIDAS certified registered electronic mail provider AR24 as customers.
The company has also formed a new partnership with augmented identity platform IDEMIA to boost its expansion in France. This partnership will streamline digital identity verification and customer onboarding processes for financial institutions.
The company initially entered into the French market in 2014, with its early customers including BlaBlaCar and Drivy.
London-headquartered Onfido uses machine learning technology to validate a user’s identity document and compares this with facial biometrics. These pictures are then cross-referenced against international credit and watchlist databases.
Onfido CEO and co-founder Husayn Kassai said, “We’re excited to be investing heavily in France as the demand for robust identity verification (IDV) solutions continues to grow. Paris, being a centre of tech excellence, is another ideal location in Europe, augmenting existing offices in San Francisco, New York, London and Lisbon, allowing us to further improve our support for all our Europeans customers, including our newest clients and partners, Europcar Mobility Group, IDEMIA and AR24.”
Earlier in the week, Onfido formalised a partnership with BitPay to enable itself to accept payments through cryptocurrency. This will help the RegTech to provide its solutions to a wider customer base across the world.
In line with the deal, BitPay also gains access to Onfido’s verification tools, helping to improve its onboarding processes.
Last year, Onfido was selected for the RegTech 100, for a second year in a row. The list compiles all the RegTech companies every financial institution should know about in 2019.
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