2 min

Stripe announced on Monday that it is launching Stripe Identity. The release is an identity verification system that online businesses can use to deploy a complete verification flow hosted by Stripe. The system is designed to reduce fraud, prevent account theft and other criminals who take advantage of weak verification systems.

Rob Daly, the head of engineering for Stripe Identity, says that businesses have been asking the company for a simple and rapid system that verifies identities online. Now, he adds, they can do just that with this tool, faster than before.

How it works

Stripe Identity can be used by any business. This could range from a small operation of a handful of people to multination corporations. Verification occurs within minutes, instead of weeks or months. The product can be integrated using a low-code or no-code option.

With low-code integration, Stripe enables businesses to run the verification tool within minutes. The no-code option allows users to generate verification links to examine high-risk users or suspicious transactions.

As part of the identity verification process, users take a photo of their government-issued ID and a live selfie. The machine learning-enabled Stripe tool then matches the selfie to the ID.

Security and speed

Businesses have the option to request additional information from users, which can then be cross-referenced against third-party databases. The information collected is encrypted and sent to Stripe directly, meaning that no sensitive personal info is stored on the businesses’ servers. The verification process for an individual can be completed in about 15 seconds, according to Stripe.

Monday’s launch of Stripe Identity comes a week after the launch of Stripe Tax, a new compliance tool used by businesses to automate the calculation and collection of sales tax, goods and services tax (GST), and value-added tax (VAT).