• Eduardo Azanza , CEO at Veridas


• 13.06.2025 02:11 pm

Financial IT: Eduardo, thank you for joining us. To begin, can you give us an overview of Veridas and the core mission behind the company?

Eduardo Azanza: Thank you. Veridas was founded 10 years ago with a very clear mission: to determine whether a digital identity is real or fake. In a world where it’s easier than ever to fabricate identities, that distinction is critical—especially for banks, insurers, telcos, and any digital-first organization. We use AI-driven technology to verify that there's a real person behind an interaction and not a synthetic or fraudulent identity. That’s the heart of what we do.

Financial IT: Identity verification is such a critical, yet often overlooked, part of digital security. How does Veridas address the challenges your customers face with fake or synthetic identities?

Eduardo Azanza: We help institutions—particularly those in regulated industries—onboard new customers digitally while ensuring compliance and mitigating fraud. Our technology verifies government-issued ID documents, conducts facial biometric analysis, and ensures liveness detection, all with full privacy. Once a customer’s identity is confirmed, we enable organizations to authenticate them securely using biometrics. It's about creating trust in digital environments through real identity assurance.

Financial IT: AI is a central theme here at Money20/20. How does Veridas incorporate AI into your platform?

Eduardo Azanza: AI is not just something we adopted recently—it’s in our DNA. Veridas has been AI-native since 2013. We began by developing deep learning models to verify ID documents and analyze facial biometrics. From the start, our goal has been to create unbiased, accurate models—free from race or gender bias—that can verify identities with a high degree of confidence. Today, our AI models power everything from face and voice recognition to document authentication.

Financial IT: That’s impressive. Being “AI-native” sets Veridas apart from many others who are only now jumping on the AI trend. Can you share more about that early journey?

Eduardo Azanza: Absolutely. Before entering the digital identity space, we were applying AI to detect counterfeit physical currency. That required sophisticated hardware-software solutions, and much of that expertise carried over when we shifted to digital. By the time we moved into identity verification, we already had a deep foundation in AI, which gave us a significant head start in building proprietary, robust solutions.

Financial IT: Regulatory compliance is a major concern in financial services. How do you ensure your technology remains aligned with global and regional regulations?

Eduardo Azanza: Regulation is a cornerstone of what we do. Whether it's GDPR in Europe, state-level laws in the U.S., or financial services standards globally, our systems are built to be fully compliant. We're also closely following—and contributing to—the development of the new EU AI Act. Importantly, Europe has made a clear distinction: biometric systems used in closed environments with voluntary consent are low-risk and permissible. We’ve always believed regulation and technology should go hand in hand. That’s why we actively engage with regulators to help them understand the real-world use cases of biometrics so that laws strike the right balance—not overregulating or underregulating.

Financial IT: That’s a very collaborative and forward-thinking approach. Shifting to the business side—what brings Veridas to Money20/20, and how has the event contributed to your growth?

Eduardo Azanza: We first exhibited at Money20/20 in 2019 with just two people and a small roll-up banner. Back then, we were a 35-person company. Today, Veridas has 250 employees, operates in nine countries, and delivers 100% proprietary technology to clients across multiple sectors. Money20/20 has been a powerful venue for us—not just for meeting customers and partners, but also for sharing our vision of where identity is heading. It’s an excellent platform for engaging with the ecosystem and showcasing innovation.

Financial IT: Speaking of innovation, what are some of the key challenges you're tackling today—particularly around fraud and user experience?

Eduardo Azanza: Fraud prevention and user experience must go hand in hand. With generative AI and synthetic identity fraud on the rise, we’re developing advanced mechanisms to detect injection and presentation attacks. At the same time, we’re ensuring that verification processes remain seamless for end users. Our facial and voice biometrics, document verification tools—all of them are designed to be fast, secure, and privacy-respecting.

Financial IT: Looking ahead, how do you see the future of digital identity evolving?

Eduardo Azanza: We believe the future lies in self-sovereign identity (SSI). Just as you carry physical credentials in your wallet today, we envision a world where individuals have a digital wallet containing their identity attributes—age, nationality, driver's license, loyalty cards—and share only the minimum necessary data, when and with whom they choose. It puts users in full control of their identity. We’ve already developed and deployed a full SSI wallet ecosystem, and we see this as a transformative step not just for Europe, but globally.

Financial IT: That sounds like a fundamental shift in how identity is managed. How does self-sovereign identity compare to current models?

Eduardo Azanza: Today, most data lives in silos—each company keeps its own copy of your information. Then we moved to “Login with Google” or “Login with Facebook,” which improved user experience but concentrated data in the hands of intermediaries. With SSI, we eliminate the middleman. Users regain full control: they decide what to share, when, and with whom. Credentials can be revoked at any time. It’s not just about convenience—it’s about privacy, ownership, and transparency.

Financial IT: Final question—what advice would you give to financial services leaders looking to strengthen identity security while improving user experience?

Eduardo Azanza: Don’t treat security and user experience as trade-offs. With the right technology, you can—and should—have both. Invest in biometric and AI-based systems that are built with privacy by design. Collaborate with regulators, not just to comply but to shape the future responsibly. And start preparing for the shift to self-sovereign identity—it’s coming faster than many expect. Those who prepare today will be the leaders tomorrow.

Financial IT: Eduardo, thank you for sharing these insights and your vision for the future of identity. We wish you and Veridas continued success.

Eduardo Azanza: Thank you. It’s been a pleasure.