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Spotlight on Jumio

1. What is the mission and vision of Jumio?

Jumio’s mission is to make the internet a safer place by protecting the ecosystems of businesses through cutting-edge online identity verification and authentication services that quickly and accurately connect a person’s online and real-world identities. Jumio’s automated identity verification solutions fight fraud, maintain compliance and onboard new customers faster.

2.  Why is trustworthy digital identity critical for existing and emerging markets?

As more Canadians turn to their computers and smartphones to manage their money (and every other aspect of their lives), it’s important for organizations across a broad span of industries to provide a seamless digital experience, and that starts with the onboarding process. Consumers expect the ability to create online accounts in minutes, not days — anytime, anywhere. They aren’t afraid to take their business elsewhere if they encounter unnecessary friction. In fact more than 40 per cent of potential new accounts are sacrificed during the onboarding process because of time-consuming, clunky identity verification processes.

3.  How will digital identity transform the Canadian and global economy? How does Jumio address challenges associated with this transformation?

As companies evolve to become more digital, more and more interactions with customers will occur on a screen rather than in person. These digital transformation efforts start with creating new accounts online. Digital identity verification is an unsung hero in an organization’s digital transformation strategy because companies must verify that a person’s digital identity matches their physical identity when conducting business online. 

With this in mind, it’s imperative for Canadian enterprises to build in the necessary operational resiliency to survive this new reality. The COVID-19 pandemic has showcased the value of IT and digital transformation, and the need for organizations to accelerate the transition.

According to a recent J.D. Power study, nearly one-third (31 per cent) of new account openings are executed through a bank website or mobile app, up from 22 per cent in 2019. Meanwhile, the number of new account openings at branches has declined year over year by 10 per cent, and now comprises just over half of all new account openings. Sadly, many financial institutions still require users to visit a store or branch office to create a new account or to perform routine transactions — increasingly, this is going to be a difficult mandate as many of us are now homebound and social distancing.

This is a wake-up call for organizations that have placed too much focus on daily operational needs at the expense of investing in digital business and long-term resilience. Jumio helps Canadian businesses to digitally transform their KYC/AML and onboarding processes so they can quickly, securely and compliantly onboard new customers.

4. What role does Canada have to play as a leader in the space?

Canada is playing a leading role in online identity verification in a somewhat surprising way. In recent years, Montreal has emerged as a major technology hub for artificial intelligence (AI) due to the prominence of AI talent and research support in the city. This has allowed a number of companies, including Jumio, to launch AI labs in Montreal. In Jumio’s case, our goal is to build production AI models that perform three vital functions related to online identity verification: data extraction, fraud detection and risk scoring. In fact, AI has already been productionalized to reduce the time it takes to verify the digital identities of remote users. At Jumio, AI models have reduced the average customer transaction time by more than 50 per cent, with more significant reductions planned in 2020.  

So, in effect, Canada is driving the AI-based innovation that is powering faster and more accurate online identity verifications around the globe.

5.  Why did Jumio join the DIACC?

Jumio joined the DIACC because we wanted to be part of the conversation and help shape the emerging digital identity ecosystem. Jumio is a global leader in AI-based identity verification and biometric-based authentication and we process close to 300,000 identity verifications each day. As a result of our experience, we have much to offer in terms of best practices, especially given the pioneering work of our AI Labs division based in Montreal. At the same time, we want to learn from other members about best practices and emerging frameworks for digital identification and authentication.

We share DIACC’s mission of enabling Canadians to completely and securely participate in the global digital economy by establishing a robust, secure, scalable, inclusive and privacy-enhancing digital ecosystem. Our industry is evolving quickly and many institutions are relying on yesterday’s technologies, including knowledge-based verification and credit bureau queries which offer low levels of identity assurance and open the door to impersonation fraud and account takeovers. We are playing a valuable role in helping Canadian enterprises, of all stripes, understand the key trade-offs they need to consider and help them adopt more modern, AI-based approaches to digital identity verification and authentication.

6.  What else should we know about Jumio?

Jumio is the global leader in online identity verification because of our commitment to innovation and the customer experience. Jumio leverages a unique combination of technologies including AI, OCR, computer vision, machine learning and leading-edge biometrics to set the industry benchmark for identity verification accuracy, fraud deterrence and simplified KYC/AML compliance. Moreover, Jumio has spent the last five years refining and innovating around the customer experience. This includes reducing the number of steps required to verify an ID document or identity. This also includes optimizing the language and graphics used on screen to help maximize online conversions. These types of innovations are no less significant and help our business customers streamline their customer’s online journey.   

Jumio has verified more than 250 million identities issued by over 200 countries and territories from real-time web and mobile transactions. Jumio’s solutions are used by leading companies in the financial services, sharing economy, digital currency, retail, travel and online gaming sectors. Based in Palo Alto, Jumio operates globally with offices in North America, Latin America, Europe and Asia Pacific and has been the recipient of numerous awards for innovation.

Spotlight on Folio Technologies

1. What is the mission and vision of Folio?

We are in business to enable everyone to manage their own identity by building the most trusted mobile identity platform. We have a real opportunity to transform digital identity to be as convenient and accessible as it is secure and trustworthy:

  • Make securing digital credentials on a smartphone the new normal
  • Enable absolute privacy for every user in every situation
  • Establish an open, digital identity ecosystem
  • Provide an inclusive and accessible platform, free to the user
  • Lead the innovation of biometrics and AI to eradicate identity fraud

2.  Why is trustworthy digital identity critical for existing and emerging markets?

Digital trust will be crucial across the economy as now, more than ever, people need to be able to prove their identity and their status remotely.  

But digital and ‘trust’ don’t always marry well in people’s minds. Now with everything ‘going digital’ at a blistering rate, the individual needs to be in control – if they don’t trust, if they can’t access and feel secure… digital identity becomes a burden and a threat.

3.  How will digital identity transform the Canadian and global economy? How does Folio address challenges associated with this transformation?

Digital identity has the capacity to increase inclusion, citizen participation, and access to critical services for all. Rather than waiting 2 weeks for a face-to-face appointment with a local government department or driving 2 hours to the nearest bank, digital identity will allow all Canadians to prove who they are at the click of a button and unlock a wealth of sensitive and high-value services. We live in a connected world but the ability to prove your identity in that remote context has been slow to catch up. It’s time that we enable the same “contract of trust” that can be achieved in a face-to-face encounter but in a digital context.

At Folio, we believe all citizens should have choice and ownership of how they manage their identity, always taking active steps to build consent-driven, privacy-preserving solutions that nonetheless do not compromise on usability and experience. The self-sovereign, decentralised models will only thrive when the infrastructure suits the market and as such puts the citizen at the very centre of the ecosystem. Using Folio will allow Canadian citizens to register for a multi-purpose digital wallet, storing their credentials there and using them for an expanding set of services, private and public.

4. What role does Canada have to play as a leader in the space?

Canada is already contributing meaningfully to the global dialogue on digital identity, with DIACC facilitating debate, engagement and progress on critical pieces of infrastructure like standards and frameworks like the Pan Canadian Trust Framework (PCTF) that will enable decentralized digital identity and pave the way for international interoperability. Most importantly it’s the citizens themselves who are engaged and that is the most important stakeholder group. As the DIACC 2019 survey testified, 70 per cent of Canadians are ready to embrace digital identity as a means to improved inclusion and remote access to critical services. The expertise and know-how is there with exciting tech hubs across the provinces, regional governments approaching the topic with cautious optimism, and DIACC providing the forum and nurturing the dialogue between these stakeholder groups. It feels like Canada could be on the cusp of something exciting.

5.  Why did Folio join the DIACC?

Digital identity requires collaboration and Folio is committed to participate in the local and international communities that will be driving the development and adoption of technology innovation in this fast-moving space. DIACC represents a diverse cross section of public and private sector stakeholders who will help Folio understand the localised opportunities and participate in the development of the PCTF for best practice and interoperability. 

6.  What else should we know about Folio?

Folio Technologies (Folio) is HQ’d in London, operates globally and is part of the wider SGO Group. SGO is committed to innovative companies that demonstrate long-term promise in areas that enhance lives especially in the key areas of:

  • Identity, Health Passports and Privacy (Folio)
  • Democracy and citizen participation (e.g. Smartmatic)

SGO is built on the extraordinary success of Smartmatic, which leads the electronic voting industry in terms of revenue, profitability, geographical presence, innovation and quality of support services. SGO is headquartered in London.

Spotlight on Auth0

1. What is the mission of Auth0?

Auth0’s mission is to secure the world’s identities so the innovators can innovate, meaning we remove the hurdle of identity so application builders can focus on other things. Auth0 provides the simplicity, extensibility, and expertise to scale and protect identities in any application, for any audience.

2. Why is trustworthy digital identity critical for existing and emerging markets? 

From streaming your favorite television show to buying an airline ticket, no one can function without having some level of a digital identity. With credential stuffing, password spraying, phishing, and other malicious attempts constantly multiplying with no slowdown in sight, a trustworthy, secure digital identity practices must be put in place.

3. How will digital identity transform the Canadian and global economy? How does Auth0 address challenges associated with this transformation? 

On the business side, there is an increasing pressure to provide personalized services and seamless integration with other services your customer uses, while offering solid guarantees of privacy-preserving practices and resilience against increasingly sophisticated attacks. 
To meet these business demands, developers need to be able to rely on the best of breed of identity technologies and services, without being forced to become domain experts in security, identity, privacy, and all the other disciplines required to meet and exceed the high standards customers increasingly take for granted. 
Auth0 will continue to offer new and ever-improving ways of empowering application builders to easily handle the identity aspects in their solution, taking advantage of the new opportunities, features, and capabilities the industry and identity transformation will bring.   

4. What role does Canada have to play as a leader in the space? 

Canada is a leader in the identity space and a key contributor in the global movement to make digital identity secure and easily accessible for existing and emerging markets. 

5. Why did Auth0 join the DIACC? 

We’re thrilled to join the DIACC and connect and collaborate with leaders in the digital identity space, and aid Canada’s digital identity innovation efforts.

6. What else should we know about Auth0?

We recently launched Auth0 Signals, a collection of threat intelligence tools and product capabilities designed to protect customers from identity attacks for added value and security. By inserting threat intelligence and risk analysis into the IAM system, we’re reducing identity attack opportunities, offering a frictionless experience, and saving critical time and money for our users. 
Additionally, we recently unveiled Auth0 Explorer, an experimental research tool for application developers to map, visualize, and navigate the design of identity authentication architecture, a crucial element in the creation of secure applications. Auth0 Explorer is born from our ongoing and never-ending quest to make the very complex world of identity simpler for application builders.

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