18 million American students gain a stronger footing to access financial services online

Trulioo, the leading global identity verification company, today announced the addition of U.S. Student Records to the Trulioo GlobalGateway marketplace of identity services supporting compliance, know your customer (KYC), and anti-money laundering (AML) solutions. With the addition of this new service, Trulioo customers can now verify the identities of 18.3 million (97%) of American students.

This capability levels the playing field for Gen Z to access financial products and participate economically given that many students have little to no credit history — and are known to be experiencing heightened financial hardship from the COVID-19 pandemic compared to other generations. According to one study, 36% of American college students are food insecure, and 36% are housing insecure. What’s more, with home address being a conventional data point vetted in the identity verification process, it can be challenging for financial services providers to verify students that are in-between residences.

“Many Gen Zers, and even millennials, often encounter problems opening accounts or getting a loan due to their thin credit files,” said Steve Munford, Trulioo CEO. “The robust network of digital identity services from Trulioo enables organizations to reliably onboard thin file customers, remain compliant and mitigate fraud and risk, all while providing a seamless experience.”

With help establishing their financial footing, Gen Z represents a powerful consumer group for businesses. Gen Z grew up with the internet, making them known to be the world’s first generation of digital natives. They expect quick, seamless transactions where they shop, or they will likely move on to the next website or mobile app. In fact, according to an IBM study, 62% of Gen Zers will not use an app or website that is slow to load and 60% won’t use an app or website that is hard to navigate. These shopping patterns introduce novel pathways for accessing financial services. Together, Gen Z and millennials represent a major demographic force with substantial spending power estimated at $44 billion annually.

With the expansion of the digital economy, the need to reliably verify students and younger generations will continue to climb. GlobalGateway provides access to over 400 identity sources and services to reliably and securely verify the identities of over 5 billion individuals around the world through one API. Learn more here.