1. What is the mission and vision of Canchek?
To provide the Canadian investment industry with an economical and reliable method of legally identifying clients that they do not meet in person. The service must be (and is) compliant with the guidelines of FINTRAC and the various provincial law societies.
2. Why is trustworthy digital identity critical for existing and emerging markets?
Canchek primarily provides Canadian investment firms with anti-money laundering solutions. FINTRAC requires that firms use technology to identify clients that they do not meet in person, and Canchek introduced Canchek-eID as a convenience for its over 250 customers in Canada during the recent pandemic. The service has become an essential component of their client onboarding process.
3. How will digital identity transform the Canadian and global economy? How does your organization address challenges associated with this transformation?
The main benefit of this technology in our market space is streamlining the onboarding process of new clients for our customers. Our main challenge is balancing the power of the technology with consumer rights to privacy and ensuring continuing compliance with federal and provincial legislation in that regard. Besides our own due diligence, we often work with the legal departments of our customers to inform them of our security measures and compliance with the regulations they are subject to.
4. What role does Canada have to play as a leader in this space?
Canada is a trusted international player with strong privacy laws and a respected IT industry that can promote greater efficiency in international transactions.
5. Why did your organization join the DIACC?
To help us keep abreast of Canadian federal and provincial (e.g. Quebec Rule 25) legislation that affects the delivery of the Canchek-eID verification service. We also wanted to increase awareness of this service in the marketplace.
6. What else should we know about your organization?
Canchek began business in 2016 with a group of entrepreneurs well known in the Capital Markets industry, especially with regard to technology innovation. Canchek’s primary business is providing anti-money laundering and anti-terrorist financing services to Canadian financial firms. Since the company’s inception, a wide variety of customers, ranging from small to large national and internationally known firms, now use our AML technology. The electronic ID verification service represents approximately five percent of our revenue.