Finland’s Holvi bank tackles online-only identity verification
GB Group will help Holvi verify customers across 30 European countries
Finnish online-only bank Holvi has partnered with GBGroup, an identity intelligence specialist, as part of a drive to ensure that all its customers are verified while reducing the time this process takes. Holvi does not operate any branches, and as such relies on other methods to confirm the identity of its customers.
GBGroup started working with Holvi nine months ago to verify the documents of their new customers to prove they are valid and fully compliant on a pan-European level. GBGroup has allowed Holvi to check, verify and authenticate customers across the UK, Austria, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Sweden and Denmark. The bank also says its new methods will save time.
“Current banking systems aren’t designed for sole traders; and it can take months for them to open an account, in which time they may have lost out on precious revenue or securing new business,” said Luis Calleja Rodriguez, chief compliance officer at Holvi. ““GBGroup helps us provide a real banking experience for SMEs and sole-traders,” continued Rodriguez. “Working with GBGroup allows our clients to open an account in under a minute, and they don’t need to provide data or paper-documents; taking out the stress of the traditional banking system. The speed makes onboarding new customers incredibly easy, allowing both us, and our customers, to focus on business growth.”
Holvi estimates that its customers save 5-7 hours on average each month as a result of using the service.
Holvi is backed by Nordic banking group Nordea, which provides the transaction banking infrastructure the company needs. Holvi completed its pan-European rollout at the end of last year. The company did not attempt to build the entire banking infrastructure itself. Instead, it used partnerships where necessary and focused on building the customer interface. Nordea also provides Holvi with the APIs that it needs to connect the front-end that the customer sees, with Nordea’s underlying core banking systems.
“We’re incredibly proud to be partnered with Holvi, they’re a truly exciting company that’s challenging an entire industry,” added Glenn Porter, general manager of international identity verification at GBGroup. “Their disruptive approach is empowering small businesses across Europe and giving them the tools they need to really make an impact.”
