Company News

Veridos Acquires US Identity Solutions Business

Veridos, a leading provider of integrated identity solutions, has acquired Valid USA’s identity solutions business to further grow its presence in the US market. A particular focus will be on enhancing its driving licence offering.

The takeover is part of an overall acquisition initiated by Veridos’ parent company Giesecke+Devrient (G+D). Veridos, the joint venture between G+D and Bundesdruckerei, will continue Valid’s production activities in Fort Wayne (Indiana), which involve the manufacturing of driving licences.

With the acquisition, Veridos aims to further accelerate its growth in the US, one of the world’s largest markets for identity solutions. Currently operating in two US states, the company is now expanding its activities to a total of six. Veridos’ core activities will continue to focus on the manufacturing of driving licences. However, the company also aims to engage in the production of additional sovereign documents in the future.

‘We are very excited to continue our expansion in the US market with our identity solutions,’ says Marc-Julian Siewert, CEO of Veridos. ‘The market offers a lot of potential for state-of-the-art products – products that are already in the Veridos portfolio and that have gained worldwide recognition. Our top priority is a smooth transition for our customers and employees.’

Simultaneous with the sale of Valid USA’s identity solutions business to Veridos, the sale of Valid Data Solutions to Christopher LeClair, the current Vice President & General Manager of the business was announced. The management buyout of the Valid Data Solutions business will allow a greater focus and prioritisation on digital solutions and growth.

HID Global Launches Joint Research Laboratory

HID Global, a worldwide leader in trusted identity solutions, has announced a joint research laboratory with France- based Hubert Curien Laboratory, named the ‘Lasers, Materials, and Colours for Citizen Identity Documents, Laboratory, or LAMCID.

The Hubert Curien Laboratory is a joint research unit of the Jean Monnet University, the National Research Centre and the Institut d’Optique Graduate School.

LAMCID will host experts from HID and Hubert Curien to conduct a variety of joint projects aimed at reducing counterfeit citizen identity documents. Research will explore new methods to improve image quality and integrate digital materials, processes, and treatments at industrial scale.

‘In an increasingly digital world, securing the link between physical documents like passports and identification cards and their digital counterparts is paramount to reducing fraud amongst an increasing trend of counterfeiting,’ says Natascha Trivisas, HID Global Director of Marketing Communications.

Key research initiatives and corresponding projects include:

• The exploration of new materials, including the combination of chemical compositions and singular nanostructures to be implemented via thin-film shape and integrated into plastic maps.

• Optimisation of laser processes to ensure quality reproducibility, such as a spatial resolution that is compatible with best-in- class standards and colours for each type of document material.

• The development of algorithms that can digitally reproduce images on different types of materials using lasers and inkless inscription.

• The creation of characterisation and treatment tools that are appropriate for recognising digital properties on developed materials.

LAMCID’s mission with these projects is to generate technology that ensures the authenticity of documents needed to maintain and improve the security of citizens and governments. This cooperation encourages innovation within the security industry and generates opportunities to hire new talent who are graduates from the partner university.

Paxful Selects iProov for Cryptocurrency Onboarding

Paxful, a peer-to-peer fintech platform provider, has selected iProov to provide its biometric authentication technology to verify user identity while onboarding and making cryptocurrency transactions.

iProov is a cyber-security business based in London, providing biometric authentication of online users.

When a user onboards with Paxful, they verify their identity using an ID document, such as a driving licence. They then complete a brief face verification to confirm they are the right person and a real person. To carry out a transaction, a returning user then completes a brief face authentication instead of using a password or entering a one-time passcode (OTP).

iProov’s Liveness Assurance™ technology enables organisations to verify that an online user is the right person (not an imposter) and a real person (not a photo or mask being used in a presentation attack). In doing so, it helps businesses and public sector agencies to protect themselves and their users by preventing stolen or faked identities being used for new account fraud and account takeover fraud. Liveness Assurance is device and platform-agnostic.

‘With the tremendous influx of new users into the crypto space comes an even greater invasion of fraudsters looking to empty or take over accounts or even hold them for ransom,’ Andrew Bud, iProov CEO, said in a press release. 

‘Paxful’s mission is a critical one that helps connect the underbanked and unbanked around the globe to financial opportunities and stability. We are delighted to support them in offering inclusive and secure remote verification measures to protect their users.’

IDEX Biometrics and Turkish Issuer to Launch Biometric Payment Cards

Norwegian biometrics company, IDEX Biometrics ASA, announced its first project in Turkey with an issuer to launch biometric payment cards for the local market. Cards from the issuer are estimated to be in consumers’ hands by Q1 2023.

The partnership follows a previously announced partnership in Turkey with leading card manufacturer E-Kart. Turkey is one of the largest payment card markets globally, with 240 million cards in circulation and 1.8 million acceptance locations.

‘We are pleased to bring the IDEX Biometrics platform solution for EMVCo (the specifications for worldwide interoperability and acceptance of secure payment transactions) compliant biometric payments cards to market in Turkey,’ said Catharina Eklof, Chief Commercial Officer at IDEX Biometrics.

‘A recently published market survey commissioned by IDEX Customer Lab, reveals 86% of consumers in Turkey consider biometric payment cards very convenient, and 82% would use a biometric payment card if it were available to them. As we expand the reach of our proprietary and innovative technology, we contribute to enhancing digital banking experiences and securing digital authentication across a variety of payment and digital authentication use cases’.