DIGITAL identity verification provider IDfy is looking to expand into the Philippine insurance and telecommunications sectors next year as it seeks to broaden its customer base beyond banks and other existing clients.
“We may start looking at insurance companies also. Insurance and telcos for onboarding. These are the other two industries we’re looking at,” IDfy Philippines Country Head Raghuraman Chandrasekhar told reporters on the sidelines of an event on Thursday last week.
The company aims to secure at least one major client in each of the two sectors next year, he said.
IDfy currently works with more than 10 organizations in the Philippines, including some of the country’s largest banks, according to Mr. Chandrasekhar.
The company provides identity verification services used by financial institutions and other businesses to verify customers during onboarding.
Mr. Chandrasekhar said the company sees opportunities to expand its operations in the Philippines amid concerns over financial scams, including those involving accounts used to transfer proceeds from fraudulent activities.
A study conducted by IDfy in collaboration with CIBI Information, Inc., using data from the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas, estimated that the Philippines could lose as much as P603 billion annually to fraud involving money mule accounts.
The estimate represents a potential loss rather than documented annual losses.
“The number of scams has increased and the different varieties of scams has increased. Probably one of the biggest elements on the front is how crime syndicates are also using AI to build different kinds of scams,” Mr. Chandrasekhar said, referring to artificial intelligence.
He said the Anti-Financial Account Scamming Act (AFASA) could encourage financial institutions to invest in measures aimed at preventing fraud.
Mr. Chandrasekhar said institutions would need to continuously review and improve their safeguards against financial scams rather than treat fraud prevention as a one-time investment.
IDfy is also considering opportunities involving financial services for micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs), particularly in customer verification and access to financing.
Mr. Chandrasekhar said the company is exploring ways to help MSMEs improve their access to financing, citing what he described as their limited access to funds despite their significant role in employment.
The company intends to maintain a long-term presence in the Philippine market, although Mr. Chandrasekhar did not specify an investment amount or expansion budget.
“We are not looking at the Philippines from a two-year, three-year window. We are going to be here for another 10 years. We are looking at a 10-year roadmap,” he said. — Aaron Michael C. Sy