Plaid launches identity verification service in Canada

The aim of the solution is to help digital finance apps and services comply with FINTRAC, confirm users’ identities and reduce fraud during onboarding. With one Plaid integration, companies can verify the identities of users from more than 200 countries.

US-based Open Banking platform Plaid the launch of Plaid Identity Verification and Monitor, a global verification and KYC solution, in Canada.

FINTRAC compliance challenges explained

Canadian fintechs face a significant challenge when it comes to understanding the KYC requirements applicable to their business and navigating the verification methods of Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) while staying compliant.

The Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre of Canada is the national financial intelligence agency of Canada. FINTRAC was established in 2000 under the Proceeds of Crime (Money Laundering) Act to facilitate detection and investigation of money laundering, FINTRAC receives information from regulated entities on: suspicious transactions, suspected terrorist property, large cash transactions, outgoing or Incoming International Electronic funds transfer over CAD 10,000 within a 24-hour period, cross border currency reporting.

In response to FINTRAC's requirements, Plaid developed an all-in-one solution that integrates directly with a credit reporting agency to help companies comply with FINTRAC’s credit file and dual-process verification methods using the platform’s data source verification.

Additionally, Plaid IDV’s documentary and liveness (selfie) checks can be used to satisfy FINTRAC’s government-issued photo ID verification method. Plaid IDV can dynamically fall back to alternative verification methods if the initial check is unsuccessful. This way, an FINTRAC compliance can be automated while the need for manual interventions or configurations on the side of the company decreases.

Plaid IDV and its anti-fraud engine

Plaid IDV is equipped with an anti-fraud engine designed to detect and prevent various forms of fraud, including synthetic fraud, money laundering attempts, and account takeovers. The engine starts working the moment a user begins the verification process, from analyzing passive signals like how a user types their PII and the order in which they input their data to document and biometric verification.

Plaid’s fraud detection model is trained on hundreds of risk signals and anti-fraud vectors across the network and analyses email, phone, and device indicators to identify bad actors, fraud rings, and bots.

Focus on the Canadian market

Plaid official data indicated that its IDV service complements the company’s account linking experience that more than 38 million Canadian consumers have used to connect over 200 financial accounts to digital finance apps in Canada. Plaid additionally supports over 16,000 ID documents in 200 countries and territories and authoritative data source checks in over 36 countries.

To learn more about Plaid, please check out the company profile in The Paypers Company Database.