VerifyMe boss advocates trust as new currency for business recovery

Business leaders have been urged to build trust-based processes across their systems in order to thrive in the post-COVID-19 economy.

Esigie Aguele, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, VerifyMe Nigeria, an identity verification and KYC technology company, according to a statement, gave this advice against the background of instability and risks confronting businesses as they adapt to the realities of a pandemic driven environment.

According to Aguele: “Trust is the new currency of business in the post-COVID-19 era and it has become increasingly clear that it is a major economic driver that enables faster and more cost-effective transactions. This makes it imperative for businesses to consciously invest in processes and systems that establishe trust in every action, relationship and transaction.”

While adding that trust will enable businesses attract the right kind of partners in order to achieve their goals, he stressed that it will be a grave mistake for organisations to continue to view trust from the lens of a token social virtue.

“In the past few weeks, Nigeria has seen most businesses adapt their processes to work remotely in response to the repeated lockdowns. As this becomes the new normal, identity authentication and fraud solutions must become the competitive differentiator for organisations if users are to put their faith and money in them,” he said.

“In financial service industries such as banking, insurance and credit-lending institutions, businesses have statutory and reputational-risk mandates to ensure that new customers are adequately vetted during onboarding. They need to verify that customers match who they claim to be, even without physical interaction.

Establishing a digital identity and KYC infrastructure will help organisations within the sector protect their ecosystems as they grapple with the expected increase in demand for their services, particularly with approving customers for loans and other forms of credit,” he added.

Explaining how organisations can balance customer needs while reducing risks and maintaining regulatory standards, Aguele said: “Most customers are frustrated by lengthy and cumbersome onboarding processes which affect their trust in a company even before the relationship has started. However, businesses are also concerned about fraud prevention and regulatory compliance. For most organisations, digital identity verification offers a solution to this problem.”

Digital ID solutions offered by VerifyMe Nigeria allow businesses to create simple and streamlined onboarding experiences for trusted Know-Your-Customer (KYC) data via API for corporates and via an online portal for individuals. With Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and CBN Tier III compliance, VerifyMe’s products give decision-makers the tools to assess customer suitability for financial and other services.

According to the statement, with over 1,000 corporate organisations, including banks and government agencies, currently using VerifyMe products, the company has emerged as a leading technology company pioneering innovative and secure ID solutions in the African market.

VerifyMe’s ID verification capabilities leverage the most trusted databases like the Nigerian Identity Management Commission (NIMC), Bank Verification Number (BVN) and Drivers License verification.