UK-based Know Your Customer (KYC) marketplace company Magic has partnered with automated identity verification provider Onfido . The primary goal of the joint venture is to offer both document and biometric verification services for KYC processes and, consequently, help mitigate fraud.

News of the partnership comes as Magic is reportedly building a ‘Sign-up with Google’ capability addressed to regulated services. As outlined in the official release, the company's goal is to create a privacy-first ecosystem that caters to enterprises and individuals. This ecosystem further aims to enable customers to enhance their data control and increase engagement levels.

The collaboration precedes a Beta programme devised by Magic that strives to enhance the process through which businesses can verify and oversee customer identities. As per the official statement, via this programme, the company intends to enable businesses to see KYC not just as something that has to do with compliance obligation, but rather as a tool for transformation. Another expected result of the partnership is that Onfido will provide Magic with the necessary capabilities to secure user profile-related data.

Following the integration of Onfido’s AI-powered identity verification platform, Magic’s users will be able to sign up by using a photo of their government ID and a selfie or video. After the platform verifies that the ID is real, Onfido additionally checks the similarity of the selfie to the ID. The process helps the system verify the identity of the user and grants it access to the desired digital journey.

Representatives from both Magic and Onfido emphasised the importance of fraud detection and prevention, as well as the implementation of a seamless experience for customers verifying their identity. Moreover, an official from Onfido further stressed the significance of Magic’s digital initiative to create a digital identity ecosystem. Onfido’s strategy and past developments Founded in 2021, Onfido is a digital identity verification provider that has extended its services to over 900 companies.

The enterprise has offices worldwide and has, reportedly, completed over 2.2 million verifications so far. One of the capabilities it extends is biometric video liveness technology, which it leveraged to purportedly detect over 500,000 fraud attempts for its clients. Earlier in 2023, the identity verification company partnered with orchestration service provider Mvine to facilitate digital IDV checks.

Also in 2023, Onfido announced that it received an ETSI TS 119 461 certification for identity proofing and trust services that made it possible for the provider to extend its offerings globally and comply locally. Moreover, Onfido revealed that it acquired Airside Mobile as part of its strategy to implement a ‘Verify Once, Share Anywhere’ system. .