As IDnow celebrates its 10th anniversary, the Munich-based identity verification platform has reflected on a decade of innovation, growth and transformation in the know-your-customer (KYC) space.
Founded in 2014, the company has evolved from a niche service provider in Germany’s financial sector to a prominent player serving multiple industries across Europe. Under the leadership of CEO Andreas Bodczek since 2019, IDnow is now focusing on reusable identities and trust services to meet the changing demands of customers and regulators.
“In the past, IDnow was primarily active in the market for financial services in Germany,” Bodczek says. “Today, we have one of the broadest portfolios of solutions – expert-led, fully automated, digital signatures, NFC-powered or in-person – on the European market and operate across financial services, telecommunications, mobility and travel, gaming and many more sectors.
“On the one hand this is due to regulatory changes in the EU and on national levels and technological advancements, especially in artificial intelligence and machine Learning, but more importantly there has been a shift in the expectations of our customers: They have a problem that needs solving. As an identity verification platform provider, we are here to solve that problem with whatever solution from our portfolio best fits their needs.”
IDnow’s decade of change
IDnow’s journey began with the introduction of VideoIdent, an innovative service that enabled remote identity verification via video call. This service, approved by the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority (BaFin), set the stage for IDnow’s expansion.
Over the years, the company has diversified its offerings to include AutoIdent, an AI-supported, fully automated solution, and eID, the electronic function of the German ID card. More recently, IDnow launched ShopIdent, an onsite solution for identification in German petrol stations and stores.
Reflecting on IDnow’s growth, Bodczek touches on the value of strategic planning, resource allocation and flexibility to transition from an IT startup to a successful scale-up.
“Since our founding, we have shown a great deal of foresight, resiliency and adaptability to market developments with our broad and continually evolving portfolio. In the last 10 years, we have earned the trust of more than 900 global customers by focusing on our core business every day while also keeping a finger on the pulse of the secular trends that are shaping the markets.”
Market expansion
IDnow’s growth strategy has included strategic acquisitions, such as the purchase of French identity verification leader ARIADNEXT and German provider identity Trust Management AG in 2021. These acquisitions have bolstered IDnow’s presence in the European market and expanded its service offerings.
In addition to financial services and telecommunications, IDnow has entered new markets such as mobility and travel, online dating, gaming, human resources and social media. Despite the varying needs and regulatory requirements across these sectors, the demand for trust in digital transactions is a common thread.
Moving forward, Bodczek says the company’s focus is on European trust services and reusable identities.
“Today, we are facing a fundamental transformation of our industry – away from the one-time verification process and towards reusable identities – and we will once again lead this revolution,” Bodczek says.
“We want to leverage our customer relationships and take them to the next level by building up our own trust service and a digital identity pool of several million users. In doing so, we intend to lead the way in the transformation of the digital identity market heralded by the eIDAS 2.0 regulation: European trust services, reusable identities and a fully integrated, broad product portfolio form the basis of the company’s long-term product strategy.”
