Tradier improves KYC process with Lookup Identity Match
Time to read: 2 minutes
Tradier is an innovative online brokerage firm that focuses on serving both domestic and international customers in the stock and option trading industry. They have integrated their platform with third-party platforms and were one of the first cloud-based brokerages a decade ago by partnering with NASDAQ and AWS. They prioritize resilience and staying at the forefront of technology deployment. Tradier strives to do things differently and handle tasks in-house when possible, emphasizing their role as partners rather than just a platform.
Tradier aims to provide a smooth and streamlined experience for their customers, making interactions as simple as possible. They strive to minimize the need for customer reliance on Tradier by ensuring that users have complete ease in trading and funding activities.
Twilio a reliable partner
Tradier has a strong partnership with Twilio, having utilized their services multiple times in the past. They have leveraged Twilio for various purposes, including the implementation of One-Time Passwords (OTPs) in the past, as well as ongoing usage of SMS messaging. By collaborating with Twilio, Tradier ensures the delivery of secure and reliable communications within the regulated space they operate in. The CTO of Tradier, Jason Barry, has expressed confidence in Twilio’s capabilities, stating that they consider Twilio to be a trustworthy partner for such critical functionalities. Additionally, Tradier has also worked with SendGrid in the past, highlighting their commitment to partnering with industry-leading providers to enhance their messaging and communication systems.
“Twilio is a reliable partner for these types of things in a regulated space. We know we are safe working with Twilio.”
KYC and Identity verification
As a regulated business, Tradier is required to adhere to know your customer (KYC) and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. These regulations necessitate the use of two different sources of information to validate the same piece of data. Tradier has actively explored various identity solutions over the past decade to ensure compliance. Notably, they discovered Lookup Identity Match, an innovative approach that leverages phone-based identity verification.
Lookup Identity Match effectively confirms user-supplied data, such as name, last name, and address, by comparing it against authoritative sources using the provided phone number as a key. This solution has proven to be both promising and valuable for Tradier in meeting regulatory requirements and enhancing their identity verification processes. “Using some information that is locked up to someone else, can give more information on who a customer is” Jason Barry mentions.
“Everyone today can pretty much say those are not private credentials (Social security numbers, address, etc). It is not what it used to be, so we need to rely on more information, and Identity Match brings us that.”
Identity Match - a VIP experience
Currently, Tradier is using Lookup Identity Match to filter out the real unique users and to flag the suspicious ones that need more friction for identity verification. Additionally, Identity Match helps them to protect their user base. Fraudsters cannot impersonate other people, therefore, it is becoming more difficult for them to access the platform since they can’t open accounts, receive OTPs, or use other verification methods. This has reduced the amount necessary for customer interaction regarding validation by ~90%.
“People can try to open accounts by using other people’s data points (phone number, name, etc). The phone number is a critical piece and fraudsters cannot actually use the real one because they cannot spoof it without alerting the real party. We don’t need to get to a point where we need to put a number on it because we are preventing them from even getting through the door” Highlights Peter Laptewicz.
“We’re not just relying on traditional methods but also relying on these new signals that can help prevent fraud. It is safe to say that we have caught several signals of fraud using Identity Match”
Future and growth while partnering with Twilio
Tradier has a bright future ahead, as they have recently secured significant funding in their Series B round. They are also working on creating a Trading Hub to keep users engaged with content. Tradier is pleased with the results they have seen by using Lookup Identity Match and plans to automate its integration into their processes. They are also interested in exploring other Twilio products like Lookup SIM Swap to prevent account takeovers and will assess their potential advantages.
“Any amount of money that's spent to prevent fraud gets us a leg up. While it is money spent, it is ultimately money saved to prevent any amount of fraud.”
