Business identity platform Niva has launched after raising $3.3 million for its verification solution, according to a Monday (July 8) news release.
Verifying the identities of small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) by screening for fraud and meeting local and international know your business (KYB) requirements is a major source of friction, per the release.
“The current process is almost entirely manual, flawed, and varies widely by country, often requiring weeks of emailing back-and-forth between Niva’s customers and the SMBs applying to use their products,” the release said.
The company says it is fulfilling the growing need for a next generation platform for companies trying to do business under these constraints.
Companies can use Niva’s compliance and fraud AI agents, to shrink onboarding cycles from weeks to less than 10 minutes, according to the release, enhancing application conversion rates by providing a better onboarding experience, and doing away with the need to train ops teams in multiple languages, regional laws, and fraud tactics.
“Streamlining KYB has always been core to our business,” Sebastian Kreis, CEO and founder of Latin American B2B FinTech Xepelin, said in the release “In just a few months, Niva’s AI has been able to accelerate our onboarding to the next level. It’s clear that the team has deep experience in the domain and we’re excited about the continued partnership.”
PYMNTS examined the importance of KYB in a report last month, noting that it’s a process that can involve collecting and analyzing large quantities of data, including company registration details, financial records, ownership structures and regulatory compliance.
As Scott Steinberg, then-chief operating officer of Enigma Technologies, told PYMNTS, there has been an evolution of KYB tactics, as well as increased urgency to use technology to tackle “best practices” and adhere to both existing and new laws.
Where KYB may have once been “an informal ‘sister’ or ‘brother’ of know your customer” (KYC) initiatives, he said, “KYB has become much more important.”
“If that customer has to go through a lot of friction to be able to pass your KYB checks [however], there’s going to be a drop-off in that application process,” he added. “There’s going to be a drop-off in that signup process.”
That report further noted that observers believe artificial intelligence (AI) is set to revolutionize KYB and B2B onboarding processes, giving organizations automation, accuracy and insight into the identity of the businesses they work with.
“With B2B partnerships and online marketplaces driving growth across the landscape, business verification innovations and onboarding process improvements are becoming an increasingly crucial piece of the enterprise growth puzzle,” that report said.
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