The 5th Identiq Member Summit took place virtually in November, 2022. Over 150 participants, from more than 70 companies, joined from all over the world. The diverse group that gathered, and the many time zones reflected, really reflects the global nature of Identiq’s network and shows how the network is able to give results on an international scale already. 

As in earlier summits, many industries and verticals were represented, including e-commerce, online marketplaces, creative software, social, travel and accommodation, payments, financial organizations, event management and ticketing, gaming, and communications technology.

A New Stage for the Network

There was a tangible difference between this Summit and previous events. In the first few summits, enthusiasm for the concept of the network and the potential impact of meaningful collaboration between companies without sharing PII ran high. In the 4th Summit, in November 2021, early results were discussed, particularly by large electronics e-tailer Newegg. 

At the 5th Summit, though, members weren’t talking about “potential” and how encouraging the initial results were. They were talking about their excitement now that they’d started using the network and discovered that not only were the results better than expected, but that the ways they could use the network went beyond what they’d originally anticipated as well. 

Thinking back to the first Summit in March 2020, it’s amazing to see the growth and evolution of the network and the members who make it all possible. Identiq was able to share updates to the product, significant technological innovations, new use cases and fresh features. 

Results: Case Study

The most important updates, of course, were around key results. Omer Shatzky, Head of Risk and Fintech at Wix and the creator of Wix Payments, spoke animatedly and compellingly about experiences with Identiq, and has given permission to quote a little of what he said here. 

Professional website building platform Wix is exceptionally customer-oriented as a business, and it was fascinating to hear Omer explain how this focus, which he described as part of the Wix DNA, expresses itself in every aspect of the business - including risk management. Speaking about Identiq, he said, "These are really exciting results, and a great example of how Wix is always looking for new solutions to make the experience for Wix customers the best that it can be."

"With Identiq, we have this win-win, creating a much better experience for good users. The customer is approved, even with a high value shop, because they are known by other companies to be a good customer already.”

Omer also pointed out how a virtuous cycle is created by avoiding friction and false declines for customers: “And at the end of the day the increase in revenue directly benefits our merchants, which is super impactful. So the customer is happy, the merchant is happy, and so of course Wix is happy. The Identiq value is really great in that sense. As you can see these are incredibly impressive results, and really impactful for Wix."

Thinking back to his early exposure to the concept of Identiq, which was before the company had even been officially founded, Omer reflected on how far the network had come so quickly. "I'm super excited to be a part of this network, its evolution and its growth, and we're constantly looking to see how we can leverage the magnitude of the network in new use cases."

If you’d like to see the full video from Omer’s excellent session, diving into the details of Wix’s case study with Identiq, please be in touch. 

It All Comes Down to Trust

There was a strong theme running through the Summit - a consistent reason people gave for their excitement around the network and what it can do. The word that came up again and again was, “trust.”

Giacomo Austin, Group MLRO & Senior Vice President Compliance at Paysafe Group, joined Identiq’s CEO Itay Levy for an engaging fireside chat that touched on Paysafe’s innovative approach to KYC, the spirit of regulations, and the future of identity validation. It was clear from participants’ reactions that these topics are live issues for many in e-commerce and payments today. 

Describing the challenge, Giacomo said, “At the end of the day, we need to balance compliance and regulation, keeping customers safe, and reducing friction.” He related this to Identiq as well.  

“What I really like about the concept of Identiq is that it flips a paradigm of risk and compliance on its head. What we tend to do is focus on catching bad guys, and what Identiq is helping us do is focus on enabling the good guys, creating a high level of trust in a customer.” 

At a time of economic uncertainty, it’s especially important to ensure customers have a positive customer experience - which, in turn, requires trust. 

“When a customer signs up, I don't know anything about them,” said Giacomo. “If I can establish from the start a level of trust because this identity has been seen by this incredible network, and someone has validated that that customer is in good standing with other companies, then you can use that to start off on a good positive note with that customer. And you can use that across a wide range of controls… That’s the real game changer here, and it’s something I’m really excited about.”

Focusing on the Future

It was clear from the Summit that 2022 saw tremendous progress for Identiq’s network, on numerous fronts, and it was fantastic to see the network members buzzing about the growth and contributing thoughts about what it means. 

At Identiq, we know that all of our progress comes from our network members - the partners who have turned vision and potential into an innovative reality that’s safer, smoother and better for everyone. We can’t wait to see what happens next. 

‍