Popularity of Remittance Magnifies Importance of Identity Verification in Canada
Canada boasts a foreign-born population of just under seven million people, or more than 20% of the nation’s entire population—the highest percentage among G8 countries. And this trend is only accelerating: between 2006 and 2011, more than 1.1 million foreign folks immigrated here, making up over 3% of Canada’s total population, according to Statistics Canada.
It’s no surprise then, that remittance—in this case the act of foreign-born Canadians sending money to family and friends in their origin country—is a very popular affair in our nation. In fact, data provided by the World Bank on the flow of remittance around the world in 2012 places Canada as the third-largest sender of remittance globally and the number one sender of remittance per capita in the world. That year, more than $23 billion was sent from Canada to other countries in the form of remittance—nearly $700 on a per capita basis.
With those kind of numbers, it’s easy to imagine how vital identity verification is in the process of remittance. Hence, why new online money transfer startups like WorldRemit are receiving funding from investors. Registered in Canada and with an office in Quebec, WorldRemit enables customers to make money transfers safely from the privacy and convenience of their own home or office at any time day or night, where funds are immediately available to the accounts of the intended recipients.
“ID verification is a major component in remittance,” says Tanis Jorge, the chief operating officer of Trulioo, a Vancouver-based startup that provides global identity verification. “It’s important for international money transfer companies looking to satisfy risk mitigation as well as compliance regulations.”
After the recent acquisition of Global Data Company (GDC), a leader in cross-border Anti-Money Laundering (AML)/ Know Your Customer (KYC) identity verification, Jorge says Trulioo is the first company to offer both cyber identity verification and AML/KYC identity verification.
“Our Global Gateway product enables online money transfer businesses to verify identities on-demand while complying with local and global AML/KYC regulations,” Jorge explains.
