“Expanding our solution to both the Czech Republic and Slovakia is critical,” said Stephen Ufford, CEO and founder of Trulioo. “Not only are they two of the fastest growing economies in Europe, but they’re also home to some of the fastest growing tech companies in Central Europe,” said Ufford.

Keeping pace with new regulations and technologies in growing markets, however, is an ongoing process. As technology, consumer behaviors, laws and international standards continue to evolve, so do fraud schemes. Today’s fraudsters are well-funded, skilled and equipped with the latest technology, which makes staying ahead of them more difficult than ever before. In fact, according to National Check and Currency, money launderers now employ complex networks and covers and use modern accounting and financial tools to defraud both the traditional and alternative financial industries. These evolving methods have enabled criminals to conceal their identities in a new way, which presents a huge challenge for financial institutions and law enforcement agencies.

“Both member states will be required by the EU’s Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive (5AMLD) to implement new provisions that close loopholes, consider new technologies and improve transparency while still protecting personal data and adhering to international agreements,” Ufford continued.

The Czech Republic and Slovakia are both taking steps to thwart rising fraud and money laundering. According to the U.S. Department of State’s report on the Czech Republic, the country’s central European location and openness as a market economy leave it vulnerable to money laundering. In recent years, its government has put legislation in place to combat this high level of fraud and continues searching for solutions to the large scale of fraud faced today. The country also recently became a party to the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) as well as the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention.

Meanwhile, the Slovakian government recently approved a proposal that amends an existing act to increase the transparency of ownership of legal entities and the preservation of information. Under the amended act, all legal entities and special purpose asset arrangements are obligated to register and maintain documentation on ultimate beneficiary owners (UBOs). The UBO’s identification details must be recorded by a legal entity each year and for a period of five years after the termination of the UBO’s status, according to Cechova and Partners.

Developed to help businesses automate their customer onboarding processes and comply with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and Know Your Customer (KYC) requirements, GlobalGateway powers fraud prevention and compliance systems for hundreds of financial institutions, payments, banks and online marketplaces worldwide.

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Named as a CNBC Tech Disruptor 2017, Trulioo provides secure access to alternative and traditional data sources worldwide to instantly verify consumers and businesses online. Its online verification platform GlobalGateway helps companies comply with Anti Money Laundering (AML) and Customer Due Diligence (CDD) by automating Know Your Customer (KYC) and Know Your Business (KYB) workflows. Trulioo supports over 500 global clients to instantly verify 5 billion customers and 250 million business entities in over 100 countries—all through a single API integration. The company accesses data from leading mobile network operator (MNOs), credit bureaus, utility companies, government-approved ID documents and public records to digitally verify an individual. Some notable clients include PayPal, Stripe and World Remit.

Asia—the world’s most promising FinTech region

RRecently Trulioo made its foray into the Southeast Asian nation of the Philippines, and now offers instant identity verification for consumers in the country. Philippines is a big remittance market—last year, the country recorded inflows of approximately US$33 billion, an all-time high. In January, cash remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) reached US$2.4 billion—a 9.7 percent increase on the previous year. A large portion of remittance flow into the Philippines comes from the UK, positioning it as a lead driver, second only to the US. This month, remittances from the UK were valued at 1.6 percentage points, making it a substantial catalyst of growth.

According to World Bank, the Philippines is one of the world’s largest recipients of remittances, third only to India and China. Remittances are the country’s largest source of foreign exchange income and account for approximately 10 percent of GDP in 2017.

A step into the country’s booming remittance market with global identity verification would afeguard against nefarious activities, as well as keep remittance costs low for senders and recipients, said CEO Stephen Ufford.

Trulioo’s General manager Zac Cohen is bullish on their expansion plans in Asia, “It is one of our strongest markets, owing to the density of population, growth of mobile phones and the immense number of expats they have. Be it China, the Philippines, or India, there are plenty of expats who play a crucial role in driving the ecommerce and remittance markets. We continue to expand our presence owing to the density of population, growth of mobile

phones and the immense number of expats they have. Be it China, the Philippines, or India, there are plenty of expats who play a crucial role in driving the ecommerce and remittance markets. We continue to expand our presence across the region.”

Trulioo, which launched in 2011, has remained very positive about the payments market, but has expanded its remit to include ecommerce/online marketplaces and financial services—both of which have volumes of customer information that need to be verified. However, global banking remains the biggest market for the company, says Cohen.

Challenge of digital verification in age of cyber-threat

The danger of cyberattacks is a very real one being faced by companies all over the world today. While there are some constantly recurring countries on the list, such as Russia, China, Vietnam, India and Iran, cyber threats loom large across almost every corner of the digital world. However, Trulioo verifies user data using multiple credible sources and is constantly updating its marketplace of identity data and services.

“As businesses continue to become more digitized the world is facing a very real threat,” says Cohen. “What helps drive our use-case is that we don’t retain or store any customer data, and are constantly working with industry forces to keep the verification process free of threat or sabotage of any kind.”

The emphasis on data privacy has been resonating across economies and governments, following which regulations like GDPR have been implemented with the threat of strict fines for non-compliance.

These measures are beneficial for a data-driven economy. Cohen says, “The reinforcement of data protection, privacy and transparency through regulations indicates an evolved approach to managing data. Being in the ID verification space, we have upheld user privacy to the highest possible levels from the beginning. Moreover, being in Canada where data protection has been upheld by private companies and governments to the highest standards, gave us a thorough understanding of its critical role.”

Cohen believes GDPR is just the start. “We’re seeing multiple jurisdictions across the world being implemented to safeguard user privacy, and this is the only way to standardise business practices in today’s times.”

The success of a company like Trulioo is reflective of the changing needs of businesses today across the world.

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