The Bengaluru-based fintech company says the no-code verification solution will simplify the digital identity verification for MSMEs and digitally transitioning sectors.
Typically, integrating an API-based KYC solution into your online onboarding process takes anywhere from 15 days to 3 months, depending on the size of the integration. With KYC Link, the payment gateway platform claims, businesses can start using the solution on day zero itself. The company says its digital solution now makes it a seamless way for merchants to verify user identity, eliminating the need for technical expertise, enhancing accuracy, and reducing drop-offs in the digital identification process.
The process, which can be automated or done manually, allows merchants to send verification links via SMS, email, or WhatsApp. The solution is the newest addition to the firm’s verification suite, which claims to authenticate over 40 crore individuals yearly.
KYC Link incorporates all existing verification solutions offered by Cashfree Payments, including bank account verification, UPI, PAN, Aadhaar, and more. It allows businesses to generate personalized KYC verification links with branding options. The latest addition to the firm’s verification suite enables businesses to process over 10,000 verifications at once through Excel upload or API integration. The verification suite helps businesses verify the identity and source of funds of individual users and partner businesses, covering Aadhaar, PAN, GSTN, Bank Accounts, UPI handles, etc.
The online payment aggregator leading the way in bulk disbursals in India with over 50% market share, adds its proprietary Domain-Specific Language (DSL) and tools to generate customised dynamic forms for merchants, ensuring a smooth user experience.In an exclusive interaction, Akash Sinha, CEO, and Co-founder of Cashfree Payments, sheds light on the USP of the firm’s latest offering and how it would help MSMEs in their digital identification process.ET: What are the key pain points faced by businesses concerning customer onboarding?
Akash Sinha (AS): The digital revolution in India has gained significant momentum, driven by a convergence of factors, including the government’s emphasis on building strong, safe, and secure digital infrastructure, growing broadband penetration, technological advancements, and the affordability of data usage. Small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), along with the emerging and digitally transitioning business sectors, have intensified their efforts to establish a robust digital infrastructure to create a more interconnected, streamlined, and accessible digital ecosystem for their customers.
As the Indian ecosystem undergoes digitisation, the Indian government has designed data protection laws and Know-Your-Customer (KYC) regulations to safeguard businesses from unauthorized access, identity theft, and other fraudulent activities. These regulations have put forth strong identity verification protocols which have to be complied with by every organization right from the first step of the customer onboarding journey. Hence, businesses rely on solutions like our verification suite to effectively verify bank accounts, UPI ID, PAN Card, Aadhar ID, etc of their customers based on their business requirements.
Over 90% of existing digital identity verification solutions in the market demand technical proficiency for integration into a business’s onboarding portal or app. While large enterprises often have dedicated teams with technical know-how and ample bandwidth to handle KYC-based onboarding processes, MSMEs, emerging and digitally transitioning businesses, encounter a significant hurdle. This challenge arises from a lack of technical expertise, and at times, even the absence of their own websites for customer onboarding. Therefore, an increasing demand arises for a solution that aids these sectors in simplifying the process of Customer Identity Verification for their customers.
ET: How is Cashfree Payments solving these key pain points with KYC Link?
AS: KYC Link by Cashfree Payments is India’s first no-code verification solution, which will simplify and streamline digital identity verification for MSMEs, and emerging and digitally transitioning sectors. With the launch of KYC Link, businesses will be able to seamlessly conduct Customer Identity Verification without any manual coding or API integration. This will immediately eliminate the need for extensive technical expertise, allowing businesses to adopt KYC solutions on day zero, ensuring 100% compliance. It will even help businesses which don’t have their own website or app for customer onboarding as it will allow them to create a form and send it to their customers via email, SMS, or WhatsApp. Customers can complete their verification by clicking on the form link and uploading the necessary information. Once the customer shares all the mandatory requirements, the final results will be shared with the business. At Cashfree Payments, we continuously problem-solve through our engineering excellence and industry-first launches like these. We aim to build products and solutions that will support the Indian business ecosystem to grow, thrive and set new benchmarks.
ET: How is ‘KYC link’ different from other KYC solutions?
AS: What makes KYC Link truly a unique offering is that it is a no-code solution – businesses can now start the customer onboarding process on day zero itself by simply creating their account and logging in. Due to its user-friendly interface, the solution reduces user drop-offs and enhances the overall customer experience. It will significantly accelerate revenue generation from newly onboarded users. Other KYC solutions available in the market require significant technical know-how and resource capacity for integration with the business’s website or app. This often results in prolonged customer onboarding, causing user drop-offs and a decline in verification completion rates.
ET: What is the time reduction for merchants to go live with a KYC solution?
AS: With Cashfree Payments’ KYC Link, businesses can start using the solution on day 0 itself. Typically, integrating an API-based KYC solution into your online onboarding process typically takes anywhere from 15 days to 3 months, based on the size of the integration.
