How IDfy has grown from a BGV provider to a complete verification and fraud prevention firm

In a world where digital fraud is on the rise and trust is hard to build, IDfy has positioned itself as the infrastructure that keeps digital transactions safe. From opening bank accounts and approving big-ticket loans to background checks for hiring and IPO due diligence, IDfy powers millions of verification processes in a quick and secure manner. 

Founded in 2011 by Ashok Hariharan and co-founder Vineet Jawa, the Mumbai-based startup began as a niche KYC and BGV provider but has since then grown into a complete verification and fraud prevention firm, offering enterprise-grade business and background verification, risk mitigation, digital onboarding, and privacy solutions.  

Today, IDfy operates across India, the Philippines, Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and Qatar, and processes over 80 million verifications each month. 

A critical shift

Before the pandemic, IDfy was largely known as a BGV (Background Verification) provider. Today, it calls itself a "trust infrastructure provider", a shift that was crucial for long-term survival. “Today, we do power onboarding, assess risk, and ensure data compliance for some of the largest enterprises,” says Hariharan, who leads the company as its CEO.

Looking back, Hariharan says the company’s journey was tough. “We almost died four times as a company,” he says. India’s digital economy at the time IDfy was launched wasn’t mature enough to support such a business; volumes were low, adoption was slow, and funding was hard to come by. 

Hariharan says persistence and a strong belief that India’s future would be digital-first paid off amid the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. The pandemic slowed down many businesses, but it also pushed banks, insurers, logistics companies, and ecommerce firms to go digital much faster. Almost overnight, the tools that IDfy had been building for years became critical.

“COVID was a turning point. Once people adopted digital solutions, they never looked back,” says Hariharan. “We’ve been profitable for the last two years now.” 

Building the TrustStack

A big part of IDfy’s reinvention is the Unified TrustStack, a set of platforms built to handle different areas of digital trust.

TrustStack is IDfy’s platform that helps companies onboard users, prevent fraud, and manage data privacy. It brings security, risk checks, and compliance tools together so businesses can grow safely and faster. "IDfy is Asia’s leading Trust Stack, helping companies build trust by making onboarding, compliance, and fraud prevention faster and safer," says Hariharan.

The first layer, OnboardIQ, helps companies onboard customers, partners, and employees through self-service, assisted flows, video KYC, and chat. It handles millions of journeys each month. 

“If you’ve done a video KYC for a bank, chances are we were running in the background,” says Hariharan. 

The second layer, OneRisk, is IDfy’s fraud and risk engine, which uses thousands of data points, from criminal records to financial behaviour, to catch threats early. It powers IPO due diligence, corporate lending, and big-ticket loans. 

“About 90% of IPOs in India are processed through our risk engine,” says the founder.

The third platform, Privy, launched in August 2023, responds to the rising importance of privacy. With India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act coming into effect, enterprises have to handle consent and data rights more diligently than ever, for which they need stronger compliance and consent management solutions. 

Privy helps enterprises manage consent flows, orchestrate notices in multiple languages, and maintain audit-ready records. Its free tool, PriView, built in collaboration with the Data Security Council of India, has already helped over 250 MSMEs generate compliant privacy notices.

“We created PriView pro bono because small businesses shouldn’t be left behind in regulatory compliance,” says Hariharan.

Powered by AI 

IDfy began experimenting with artificial intelligence as early as 2017, starting with computer vision to detect tampering in identity documents. Since then, AI has become the core of its platform. 

The company has built its own foundational AI models in-house, powering multiple engines for vision, natural language, and data science. These models drive everything, from spotting deepfakes to analysing repayment patterns in loan portfolios. 

“AI helps us scale faster while catching fraud that humans alone might miss,” Hariharan says. 

IDfy has also developed in-house large language models that act like copilots for underwriters, enabling even new hires to work with the precision of seasoned professionals.

Revenue model and growth 

The company charges per verification, consent event, and dataset analysed. Pricing starts at Rs 1,000 for simple checks and goes up to lakhs for complex enterprise risk assessments.

IDfy’s client base spans more than 1,500 enterprises across India and overseas, and includes leading banks, NBFCs, fintechs, ecommerce players, logistics firms, and FMCG majors. In India, its customers include HDFC Bank, Razorpay, Zomato, City Union Bank, and Amazon Pay; global clients include BDO Bank, RCBC Bank, and PalawanPay (all in the Philippines). 

This wide mix of clients and services has given IDfy both stability and steady growth. 

About 18% of its revenue comes from international markets, primarily the Philippines, Indonesia, and the Middle East.

Hariharan believes privacy tools like Privy could soon make up nearly a third of the company’s revenue, putting it on par with onboarding and risk solutions globally. 

In FY2024, IDfy reported a revenue of Rs 140 crore. In FY25, its revenue grew by about 30%. The company expects to cross Rs 270 crore in revenue in FY26. 

In March last year, IDfy raised a $27 million funding round, comprising both primary and secondary components, from investors including Elev8, KB Investment, and Tenacity Ventures.

Hariharan says IDfy prevents close to 4 million fraud attempts every quarter, shielding companies and everyday users. “Each fraud caught means someone’s savings are safe, a scam is avoided, or a loan reaches the right borrower."

Strategic expansion

By moving into fraud prevention and privacy, IDfy has made itself more resilient against market swings and regulatory changes.

The company's global expansion strategy has also become more focused. Instead of entering many countries at once, it is choosing markets where fraud patterns are similar to India’s and going deep there. Manila is already live, Jakarta is next, and Africa could be on the horizon. 

“We don’t want to go broad, we want to go deep. That’s the only sustainable way,” says Hariharan.

Competition and market outlook

Even with all its growth, IDfy still faces big challenges. Every time a new safeguard is built, fraudsters find new tricks. The company has to keep investing in AI and machine learning to stay ahead.

Competition is tough as well, with Indian players like Karza and AuthBridge and global names like Jumio operating in the same space. 

However, Hariharan says IDfy stands apart because it offers the full stack- onboarding, risk, and privacy under one roof. “You don’t get all three together anywhere else in India,” he says.

According to an IMARC report, India’s identity verification market was valued at $451.1 million in 2024 and is projected to grow to $1.72 billion by 2033, at a CAGR of 16%. 

Hariharan points out that the opportunity is not limited to India alone. “Globally, markets in Southeast Asia, Africa, and the Middle East are at similar stages of digitisation, creating fertile ground for our offerings. These are billion-person markets where IDfy’s model fits perfectly.”

Long-term vision

IDfy is testing a new product, a transaction intelligence platform that’s currently in beta stage. 

The platform studies financial behaviour using bank statements and other records to help lenders make better credit decisions. Regular money transfers to family, for instance, can signal stability, while frequent spending on online betting might raise red flags. 

The tool is designed to improve underwriting for both retail and SME loans by converting raw transaction data into clear risk signals. 

“Fraud keeps changing, so our tools must keep evolving too,” says Hariharan. 

The company’s long-term vision is to positively impact a billion people by giving them secure access to credit, jobs, and insurance.