Dutch online bank Knab prides itself on supplying a human service backed by the latest technology. To that end, it has just teamed up with biometrics company iProov.
Founded in 2011, one year before the foundation of Knab, iProov has developed a spoof-resistant, biometric facial authentication technology. Through the partnership, the Dutch challenger bank Knab is dedicated to provide an effortless online biometric experience to its nearly 500,000 customers.
The way it works is that Knab customers will be able to easily authenticate themselves for a growing range of sensitive transactions using iProov’s patented Flashmark technology in a way that is compliant with the strong customer authentication rules of the EU’s Revised Payment Services Directive (PSD2). Simply put, the law orders banks and financial service providers to use two-tier customer authentication processes.
This is the first time that iProov has been used for SCA by a bank in Europe, and one of the very first production deployments of any device-independent biometric for SCA.
“Digital banks owe their success to their customer experience,” said Andrew Bud, Founder and CEO, iProov. “A fast and easy onboarding process, with effortless strong customer authentication, makes all the difference in attracting and retaining customers in an increasingly competitive environment. Knab leads thanks to superb commitment to its customers, and iProov is very proud to be part of their best-in-class banking experience.”
Ongoing ID verification for all new customers opening an account with Knab will be carried out by iProov’s technology. Knab’s adoption of iProov also sees the bank move away from its previous token-based solution, dispensing with costly and unpopular hardware and the associated administrative burden.
“Our customers really are everything to Knab,” said Marcel Kalse, co-founder of Knab. “That’s why we chose iProov – like us, they are clear leaders in delivering the very best customer experience without compromising on the highest standards of security and compliance.”
Knab was founded in 2012, the same year as its native rival bunq was founded. While Knab is a subsidiary to Aegon Bank, bunq is completely independent and funded through its founder Ali Niknam’s own money, which he acquired through his first startup, the web-hosting company TransIP.
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