Worldpay invests in startup Veridu

Veridu, a London-based startup that offers identiy solutions for the payments industry, has secured investment from Worldpay Group. The exact amount of the investment is unknown, but the company will use it to further develop and roll out its solutions globally.

According to Rasmus Groth, CEO and founder of Veridu, the investment is a “stamp of approval” and also shows that the fintech industry is going through some major changes. “The payments industry is entering a period of disruption as consumers expect to be able to buy the products they want and when, however and from wherever they want”, he says. “Online businesses looking to compete on a global level can find themselves limited by their ability to verify the identity of their users, especially in some developing countries, where large segments of the population have been excluded from traditional financial services.”

Veridu uses advanced algorithms and people’s social media profile to score how trustworthy somebody is. With the user’s consent, the information is then shared with the company who has asked to establish trust in their identity, such as a sharing economy platform or online store.

‘Leveraging social media is the future of authentication’
According to Groth, the investment from Worldpay shows that the payments industry is looking at how they can adapt processes for todays more global and connected consumers. “Leveraging social media the way we do, […] it’s the future of authentication.” Worldpay sees the investment as another way of offering their customers a tool to protect their business from online fraud. “By verifying shoppers via their digital identity, Veridu’s technology delivers an additional level of security for higher risk transactions”, Ron Kalifa, Vice Chairman at Worldpay, says.