Experience shows that when one applies for a credit card or say, a new SIM for his/her mobile, the service provider seeks to validate the identity of the applicant with his or her Aadhaar card, driving licence or passport.

But during times such as the present (lockdown), it can be difficult — both for the applicant and the card issuing company to on-board customers as there are restrictions on movement of people among other issues.

Remote on-boarding using AI-assisted KYC and video KYC has now become a critical requirement for business continuity, particularly in the BFSI and telecom segments, says Bengaluru-based HyperVerge, an AI company. It has partnered with leading financial institutions and telecom companies for on-boarding customers.

The company is said to have recorded 280 million digital KYCs (Know Your Customer) completion in 2019.

According to a HyperVerge source, most of the job was done with the customers sitting at home. Some were agent-assisted, but this volume, the source perceives, is set to fall in the post-Covid situation.

The company, which has established its overseas presence in Vietnam and Indonesia, appears to be sailing through this (pandemic) situation relatively unscathed (with reference to revenue stream)

The company has admitted to a dramatic increase in inbound enquiries, with completely traditional NBFCs taking the app route with remote on-boarding built-in.

Brief history

Founded in 2013 by a group of friends — Kedar Kulkarni, Vignesh Krishnakumar, Kishore Natarajan, Praveen Kumar and Sai Venkatesh — HyperVerge was initially into building consumer apps for mobile devices.

While the apps helped people share and relive memories (via photos), it never really took off after Google Photos gained popularity. The underlying technology, however, proved to be valuable in our second innings, a founding member of HyperVerge told BusinessLine .

The company focuses on two verticals — financial services and geospatial industry.

Going forward, HyperVerge plans to get deeper into fraud checks and other problems associated with KYC or identity.

It is targeting a four-fold growth year-on-year in the coming years.

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