Courtesy of a partnership with identity verification specialist HooYu, NatWest has become the latest bank to enable new customers to open accounts with just a selfie. NatWest joins the ranks of HSBC and Lloyds who began offering “selfie banking” in 2016.

NatWest will use HooYu’s AI-enabled technology and real-time biometrics to compare the customer’s selfie picture with the image on their government-issued ID. The goal of the collaboration is to leverage faster, more convenient, and more secure identity verification to accelerate the account opening and onboarding process, overall. Today’s launch comes after a successful 60,000+ customer pilot that saw significant reductions in the number of fraudulent applications.

HooYu Marketing Director David Pope, who demonstrated the company’s verification technology at FinovateEurope last year, said it is critical that banks have faster, easier ways to onboard new customers. Rather than force them to visit a physical branch or to wait up to 48 hours to open an account, Pope said, the solution is an identity platform that “balances the twin demands of compliance and convenience” by streamlining and better securing the account opening process.

“We know customers want to be able to open accounts at a time and place that suits them and not have to worry about precious ID documents going missing in the post, or taking time out of their day to go to a branch,” NatWest Chief Digital Officer Frans Woelders said. “That’s why we’re making it easier, safer and faster to open and access accounts, allowing customers to get on with the things that matter.”

The partnership with NatWest is the latest – and most headline-grabbing – collaboration from a company that has teamed up with a variety of firms this year- from alternative banking solution provider Suits Me to esports wagering platform Luckbox. Other companies partnering with HooYu in recent months include gold-as-currency enabler Glint, online investment platform EasyMoney, and U.S.-based casino operator Bear Group.

Headquartered in London, U.K., and founded in 2016, HooYu made its Finovate debut at FinovateEurope 2017. The company’s two signature solutions are its global identity platform, HooYu Identity, launched in 2017, and its data visualization tool, HooYu Investigate, introduced in 2018.

Identity verification specialist HooYu is collaborating with alternative banking solution provider Suits Me to help un- and underbanked workers get better access to financial services.

“Suits Me is an innovative solution that gives temporary workers freedom and choice through financial inclusion,” HooYu Marketing Director David Pope explained. “HooYu Identify blends a range of identity verification techniques into one service. By choosing the services according to their needs, Suits Me has built their ideal customer onboarding process balancing the twin objectives of security and convenience.”

Suits Me offers a hassle-free alternative for many workers, including temporary and migrant workers who are often unable to open traditional bank accounts. With Suits Me, account holders can send wages directly to their account and get a VISA debit card that can be used anywhere VISA is accepted – online, in person, and over the phone.

Courtesy of the partnership with HooYu, new Suits Me customers will benefit from an online verification process that is both seamless and comprehensive. With HooYu’s Identify solution, new customers simply take a selfie, and provide social media or online account information, and a photo of their ID document.

HooYu then conducts a biometric facial verification and authenticates the ID documents. Identify cross-references all of the collected identity attributes and scores them to create an overall identity confirmation score and report that show the degree of confidence in the accuracy of the customer’s claimed identity.

“Our mission is to help workers get paid, ” Suits Me CEO Matthew Sanders said. Pointing out how Suits Me relieves workers of the hassles of checks and check cashing, Sanders added “Integrating HooYu Identity removes yet another hurdle – we can trust who the customer says they are and, this can happen even more quickly, without unnecessary complications or bureaucracy.”

HooYu demonstrated its identity verification technology at FinovateEurope 2018. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in London, U.K., the company earlier this month announced that it would provide online verification services for mobile e-gaming operator, Small Screen Casinos. In September, HooYu reported partnering with U.K. casino operator, Bear Group, as well as teaming up with EasyMoney, a firm that offers a variety of innovative finance ISAs.