As the lending and financing industry experiences unprecedented growth, Dana Endicott, Senior Vice President at US lender Vantage Recreational Finance (VRF), shares her insights into the unique challenges faced by her company - from combating fraud to ensuring a seamless customer experience. Discover how VRF leveraged advanced technology, including Veriff's fraud prevention solutions, to thwart identity theft attempts and protect both buyers and sellers in the evolving landscape of financial security. Discover the proactive measures they've taken to educate and collaborate with industry peers to set new fraud prevention standards.

[01:13] Introduction [02:56] The use case for VRF [05:24] What business problem did Veriff solve? [09:09] Why chose to work with an external supplier over dealing with the issues in-house? [11:24] The user experience [13:26] Getting internal buy-in and testing a solution internally [15:08] Having a robust fraud prevention strategy as a USP [17:31] Being agile in your defences and working with friendly competition [19:31] The true cost of fraud [20:52] What we can expect to see from VRF in 2024

Read more about this conversation, here: https://bit.ly/4j7lOX2. 

Currently in beta testing and set for a full launch on February 14, 2024, viida is life is a live video-based speed dating app that aims to make online dating fast, fun, and safe for users. We spoke to co-founders Ashraf Elashiry and Harin Rhandawa about viida's fresh new take on the online dating scene, their vision to create happier humans, and why creating a safe environment for users is a key differentiator for their business. 

[01:10] Introduction [03:37] The concept behind viida is life [05:05] How it will differ from other dating apps [09:35] The challenges faced when creating a new dating app [10:26] Online safety, validation, and efficiency as their USP  [12:27] Future trends in online dating [15:37] Ashraf’s fears in the run up to their launch [16:53] Excitement as the app nears launch  [17:46] Harin on taking chances and not living with regrets  [20:10] Embedding safety, trust, and respect in to viida’s culture  [22:42] Safety and verification as a differentiator for viida  [24:04] What users can expect

Fellow Estonian tech company eID Easy is an aggregator and provider of secure and easy-to-integrate global digital signature infrastructure for businesses. We chatted to the company’s cofounder Joao Rei about how the electronic signature market has evolved, the challenges it faces as it looks to the future, and why he’s excited about partnering with Veriff to build trust online – by taking safety and security to the next level.  

[01:19] Introduction to eID Easy and their partnership with Veriff [04:19] Significance of integrating digital signatures and identity verification in a single solution [08:10] Balancing robust compliance with user-friendly onboarding [11:55] Addressing fraud concerns while acknowledging some fraud is inevitable  [12:48] The key differentiators for the partnership between eID and Veriff  [15:34] The challenges to widespread adoption of identity-based signatures [19:28] What excites Joao about this partnership [20:49] The challenges involved in making the partnership successful and why it will take time  [23:39] Concluding thoughts

Read more about this conversation, here: https://bit.ly/4i91Qts.

In the second Veriff Voices episode with our Senior Vice President of Product, Suvrat Joshi, we tackle the thorny topic of AI bias. With more than two decades of product leadership experience at major tech companies including Amazon, Dropbox, Meta, Microsoft, and Yahoo, Suvrat is well versed in how algorithmic bias can affect technological applications. In this conversation, we focused on how Veriff uses reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF) to address bias in our systems.

[01:11] The biggest threats and issues resulting from AI bias in general [02:37] What causes AI bias in the first place  [03:44] Can AI bias ever be beneficial? [04:34] Is it possible to have an unbiased AI model? [05:56] Specific issues relating to AI bias in identity verification (IDV) [07:09] What organizations can do to address AI bias [08:42] How Veriff identifies and addresses AI bias in its applications [10:21] How reinforcement learning from human feedback (RLHF) can be used to address bias [11:22] How RLHF can provide reassurance to customers in relation to the use of AI [12:18] Some specific use cases for RLHF by sector [13:08] How RLHF works [14:41] Can RLHF be used to effectively remove bias? [15:27] RLHF as a differentiator for Veriff [17:47] How RLHF enables Veriff to offer a superior product  [18:31] What to expect in terms of developments in generative AI in 2024 

You can learn more on our website: https://bit.ly/3FUZFMV. 

Our Senior Vice President of Product Suvrat Joshi’s impressive CV combines a background in coding with an MBA from Berkeley and over 20 years at the coalface working for tech companies of all sizes. We sat down with Suvrat to talk about the challenges and benefits of working across geographies and industries, adapting to the ever-evolving demands of the identity verification space, and ensuring that Veriff’s products are always of the highest possible quality.

[01:11] Introduction [01:54] Suvrat's reasons for joining Veriff [03:00] How Suvrat collaborates with a globally dispersed team [04:09] Varied management styles and their impact on final products [06:32] Key components of the product development process [07:51] Determining the success criteria for a product [09:08] Launch of the Age Estimation product [10:24] Catering to customer needs across different regions and industries [12:25] Staying updated on the latest technology and trends [13:30] The potential impact of generative AI in the verification space [14:34] Advice for aspiring product managers [16:18] Similarities in product management across different companies [17:20] What Suvrat means by the term 'spicy'  [18:45] Highlights of working in various locations

You can learn more on our website: https://bit.ly/3R5Dq9a. 

Kathryn Sharpe is Head of Financial Crime Product at Griffin, an API-first UK bank and full-stack banking-as-a-service platform. Griffin was set up to help companies embed financial services into their own products and manage complex infrastructure and compliance requirements, enabling them to focus on their core business. We talked to Kathryn about financial crime, the impact of AI on financial services, and how collaborating with Veriff is helping Griffin deliver for their clients.

[01:21] Introduction [02:15] What does Griffin do? [03:12] How Griffin chose to work with Veriff [04:42] The alignment of values and priorities between Griffin and Veriff  [06:20] The impact of implementing Veriff’s services [08:11] Regulatory trends [10:14] The benefits and challenges of making financial services more accessible [12:28] How Griffin prioritizes customer safety [14:54] Griffin’s unique perspective on fraud  [15:57] How Griffin responds to fraud [16:55] How AI will impact fraud and financial crime [19:54] The right approach to using AI as a fintech [23:02] The appetite for third-party outsourcing in financial services [25:42] The current developments at Griffin  [27:09] Preparing to enter a new sector

You can learn more on our website: https://bit.ly/3FWSnYS. 

A technology expert with decades of experience, Sathya Gopalakrishnan’s role at Veriff gives him a unique perspective. Our Director of Solutions Engineering collaborates with both internal teams from Sales to IT and with Veriff’s customers, always keeping a clear focus on enhancing our offering. We sat down with Sathya to discuss how Veriff fosters productive relationships with customers, his thoughts on emerging themes in identity verification, and the importance of feedback in creating the best outcomes for our clients.

[01:11] Introduction [02:04] The importance of customer relationships for solutions engineers[02:49] How the Solutions team understand customer needs and translate them internally [04:15] Emerging themes in the identity verification space that are on the minds of customers[05:36] What customers expect from Veriff [06:36] What’s on the immediate horizon for identity verification (IDV) [07:59] The move towards multiple data points for more effective IDV [08:47] How Veriff works with customers to pursue a holistic approach to IDV [10:30] Generative AI and its potential impact on IDV [11:37] How the Solutions team are preparing for changes like generative AI and Web 3.0 [14:05] How customer feedback can be impactful and help enhance Veriff’s services [15:36] The concept of design thinking [16:49] How design thinking influences the relationship with the customer [17:37] Sathya’s book recommendations that are relevant to solutions engineering [19:32] Sathya’s love of movies and TV shows

You can learn more on our website: https://bit.ly/42374lS. 

At Veriff, we work tirelessly to refine our offering, harnessing innovation to ensure our verification products are accurate, scalable, and fast enough to meet new challenges and capture emerging opportunities. Key to this endeavor is Liisi German, our Senior Product Manager. We sat down with Liisi to discuss how her career has developed, what makes a successful product team, and why it’s important to unlock the potential of both people and AI in identity verification.

[00:17] Introduction [01:05] Liisi's inspiration to pursue a career in product [02:32] Team collaboration to ensure successful product launches [03:57] How data and analytics are used to make better decisions about product development [05:29] The key to an effective strategy for designing and launching products [06:47] The evolution of Liisi's management style [10:24] Balancing requests from customers with business priorities [12:10] Leveraging customer input for optimal solutions [13:49] What does success look like in a product team [17:45] Bias in automated systems [20:27] How Veriff is addressing potential bias in its technology [22:57] The growing importance of AI in identity verification [24:50] Why humans will continue to play a crucial role

You can learn more on our website: https://bit.ly/4jlSUSy. 

As our Senior Vice President of Engineering, Hubert Behaghel brings years of experience at Amazon, Marks & Spencer, and Sky to his crucial role at the intersection of business and technology. He talked to us about helping the engineering community find its voice, as well as wanting to tackle what he calls the ‘identity crisis online’. We also discussed the role of engineering in developing Veriff’s products in collaboration with other teams, and how AI and machine-learning technology will impact engineering.

[00:16] Introduction  [03:12] The business problem that Veriff solves [04:59] The ‘identity crisis’ online [07:53] How companies can address this identity crisis [11:30] Giving engineering more of a voice in the tech space [15:00] The process of engineering a new Veriff product  [16:48] The importance of empowering a team [18:12] Collaborating with other teams within Veriff [20:40] Keeping up with market developments in identity verification  [23:24] The risks and opportunities AI and machine learning offer [27:48] Hubert considers how living in different cultures has affected his outlook

You can learn more on our website: https://bit.ly/4i779cX. 

Taras Boyko is Veriff’s Documents Product Manager and something of an authority on the huge range of IDs in use globally. In our latest Veriff Voices podcast he discusses identity documents, the challenges it can create within the identity verification process, and his team’s mission to make verification easy no matter where you live. He also explains how his background in the highly theoretical world of semiotics serves him well in the far more practical environment of identity verification. 

[00:18] Introduction  [01:59] What are semiotics? [03:52] Why Taras moved to Estonia [05:03] The link between semiotics and digital identity [06:26] The importance of documents for a person’s identity [08:19] The issues with identity documents [10:02] Use cases for identity documents  [12:13] How many ID document types exist globally and what affects their validity for identity verification [14:59] The challenge of document versions and expiration [17:05] The kinds of documents that cause the most problems  [19:49] Three ways to make the identity verification process easier for people

You can learn more on our website: https://bit.ly/43JrdhZ.