Parallel Markets, the pioneer in reusable identity, announced today that it has acquired specific assets of Passbase, a digital identity verification company.
With this acquisition, Parallel enhances its capabilities and cements its role as a leading provider of portable, regulatorily compliant KYC. “Passbase has been a leader in the portable, reusable identity space,” said Parallel CEO Tony Peccatiello. “We’re excited to combine forces and continue driving a new era of seamless, secure and immediate client onboarding.”
Know Your Customer and Anti-money Laundering processes in the financial services industry are notoriously slow and frustrating. Redundant processes between financial institutions spurred rapid growth in KYC/AML spending, with more than $1.5 billion spent in 2022. Still, investor onboarding drags; entity KYB (Know Your Business) processes can require weeks or months to complete. Worse, fraud continues to soar; the UN estimates up to $2 trillion USD is laundered annually.
Parallel has developed an innovative identity infrastructure that allows natural persons and businesses to verify their identities once, then securely share that data with financial institutions in a manner that satisfies each institution’s specific requirements. Parallel’s technology dramatically reduces onboarding time and provides institutions an up-to-date registry of investor information. What’s more, Parallel’s unique insights into evolving cross-platform relationships serve as a powerful tool to combat money laundering.
Identity verification remains a crucial component of KYC. Passbase was a trailblazer in identity verification, developing technology to authenticate government-issued identity documents from more than 190 countries. “At Passbase, we’ve always believed that robust compliance solutions shouldn’t burden businesses or users,” said Dave McGibbon, CEO of Passbase. “By joining Parallel, we’re excited to offer a more comprehensive set of customer solutions and accelerate the adoption of digital identity network products.” McGibbon will be joining Parallel as VP of Strategy.
The Passbase transaction was completed on March 24, 2023.
About Parallel Markets
Parallel Markets provides a portable identity solution that allows investors to onboard at any financial institution with a single click. Parallel acts as a global repository, maintaining a registry of verified accreditation, KYC, AML and CFT information. Parallel’s technology enables cross-platform authentication and information sharing, dramatically reducing friction when accessing investments. With a Parallel Passport, investors never upload the same document twice. To learn more, visit www.parallelmarkets.com.
