Nations around the world have widely differing levels of maturity when it comes to corporate digital identity. But according to Umazi, a next-generation compliance and digital identity platform leveraging AI and Web3 to automate due diligence and risk assessments, while here in the UK business and government face a number of challenges to its roll-out, the rewards could not be greater.

Corporate Digital Identity systems offer several business benefits that enhance operational efficiency, security, and customer experience.  It guarantees only verified, authenticated entities can engage in business transactions, significantly reduces the risk of identity theft, fraud, or unauthorised access. Furthermore, businesses can quickly verify the identity of a company or individual, cutting down on manual processes and reducing time spent on paperwork and in so doing deliver cost savings and building trust.

Cindy van Niekerk, CEO & Founder of Umazi, stated “Those countries that have made significant progress - Singapore, United Arab Emirates, New Zealand, and Estonia - started by developing a digital identity framework for individuals before subsequently adding corporations.  That said, for businesses Corporate Digital Identity offers a way to tackle longstanding challenges. And establishing identities throughout the value chain is critical both to ensure the security of trade and to facilitate efficient access to finance through the issuance of letters of credit or other instruments. 

“At the end of the day this is about speed to market and if a business cannot operate effectively until and when they have a bank account, then how can they go on to build trust and establish ongoing trading relationships. This surely lies at the heart of the UK Government’s desire to grow the economy. Just make doing business easy!” 

Umazi has launched a platform with a decentralised identity wallet which allows businesses to securely store, and share verified credentials, eliminating redundancy and inefficiency in compliance processes. By integrating multiple trusted data sources, Umazi creates a continuously updated, reusable identity framework that streamlines compliance at scale. 

The platform has recently introduced three new applications, each with its own focus and purpose. 

1. Umazi Corporate Identity Wallet – A self-sovereign digital identity for businesses underpinned by advanced technology to minimise manual data verifications and need businesses to replicate due diligence data constantly.
2. Umazi Compliance orchestration – Our proprietary orchestration engine coordinates data ingestion, model processing, and real-time updates to deliver accurate and timely risk assessments.
3. Umazi advanced AI-assisted assessment – Proprietary machine learning models continuously evaluate and score real-time data tailored to a company’s risk mitigation, assisting organisations in detecting and addressing compliance issues promptly

The new suite includes a range of core benefits, including increased productivity, improved data accuracy, enhanced customer service, and cost savings. Automated due diligence reduces manual compliance work through AI-driven workflows. Reusable business digital identities eliminate redundant KYC and compliance checks, while Web3-enabled trust networks enhance security with decentralised identity verification.

UK fraud levels have continued to rise substantially over the past decade. Based on the Public Sector Fraud Authority’s (PSFA) methodology, The National Audit Office has estimated that fraud and error cost taxpayers £55 billion to £81 billion in 2023-24. UK fraud level increased dramatically in 2023 to £2.3 billion, being the second-largest annual fraud total in the last decade and a 104% increase over 2022. 

Cindy van Niekerk added, “We are proud to have launched in the UK and are working hard to educate the market on our all-in-one solution to prove enterprise identity, streamline the verification process, and manage updates. 

Digital company identity will save UK organisations time and effort, having a positive impact on operations by streamlining workflows and providing easier access to information. For example, a startup will reproduce due diligence data on average six times in the first six months of incorporating, and on the opposite scale is a telecoms company with a team of over 200 people responding to due diligence requests. We customise our solution to an organisation's requirements, including GDPR, integrate with applications through RESTful API, and handle thousands of checks daily, whilst safeguarding against fraud.”

James Deely​​​​, COO at Umazi, added, “With our new products, we’ve enhanced our platform further, ensuring that organisations have complete control of their own data. Once their digital identity is created, they can easily and securely share it with third parties, eliminating the need for constant proof of identification. Organisations granted access to the identity data can do so by connecting to our web-based application or integrating via API from their own systems. Furthermore, regulated organisations can benefit from the ongoing use of data as real-time updated data leads to real-time risk management.

“Umazi is built leveraging distributed ledger technology (DLT), and all data has an audit trail, from origination to validation. This allows companies to identify and fight back against any fraudulent activity.”