IDfy eyes insurance, telco clients for Phl expansion
He described the Philippines as an expanding market for financial inclusion, particularly in helping micro, small, and medium enterprises gain better access to financial services.
Digital identity verification provider IDfy plans to expand its Philippine business into the insurance and telecommunications sectors next year, building on existing relationships with banks and other local organizations as financial fraud risks grow.
Raghu Chandrasekhar, country head of IDfy Philippines, said the company currently works with more than 10 organizations in the country, including some of the country’s leading banks and thrift banks.
“We may start looking at insurance companies also. Insurance and telcos for onboarding,” Chandrasekhar said.
He said IDfy aims to secure at least one leading institution in each of the two sectors, although discussions and onboarding timelines will depend on how prospective partnerships develop.
Chandrasekhar said the company’s services go beyond fraud prevention, helping businesses verify customers’ identities while making account applications and other onboarding processes faster and more efficient.
The expansion comes as digital scams and identity theft pose continuing challenges for the Philippine financial system. IDfy recently launched “Chaos in Cavite,” an investigative graphic novel illustrating how scammers use stolen identities and money mule accounts to move illicit funds.
The company’s joint research with CIBI Information Inc. estimates that fraud involving mule accounts could cost the Philippines up to P603 billion annually, highlighting the potential economic impact of digital financial crime.
Chandrasekhar said financial institutions could use several methods to strengthen verification, including facial authentication, device biometrics, device binding and transaction monitoring. He said the appropriate tools would depend on each institution’s needs, effectiveness and ability to scale.
He also cited the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act as a positive step toward strengthening institutional safeguards, but said compliance must be accompanied by continuous improvements.
“It's still early days for us. We are not looking at the Philippines from a 2-year, 3-year window. We are going to be here for another 10 years,” Chandrasekhar said.
He described the Philippines as an expanding market for financial inclusion, particularly in helping micro, small, and medium enterprises gain better access to financial services.