Dubai-based Verismart is making KYC processing smarter with blockchain

Despite digitisation, many banks still require customers to pay a last-minute visit for verification—and this is not just an issue in India but in the Middle East as well. 

This is what Dubai-based regtech (regulatory technology) platform Verismart strives to solve. It began with a simple idea: make onboarding on different platforms secure and simple with the help of blockchain technology. 

Its AI-powered platform enables a secure network for users and their businesses to share data with other organisations. This eliminates the tedious process of onboarding customers every time they want to access different facilities from different enterprises.

Founded by Saurabh Gupta in 2017, Verismart acquired Dolphin Chat in 2021 and onboarded its founder Ashish Sharma into the core team. 

Initial days

Verismart launched the initial prototype to digitise the onboarding processes of institutions like banks, telecom insurance companies, semi-regulated companies, and others. 

“It is easier for a person to access the different services of a bank if they are an existing customer. But for accessing the facilities of another bank, every customer must go through the manual onboarding process. This is even more difficult for people who do not have access to digital facilities or a proper CIBIL score,” says Saurabh, Co-founder of Verismart.

The team soon realised that this was only a part of the bigger problem of the lack of automation in data exchange. For two years, they focused on creating a privacy-compliant data exchange platform for banks to transfer information about their customers. 

“We believe that data should be easy to exchange between different institutions without compromising on privacy compliances. Users should not feel that their data is being misused,” he adds. 

They broadened their focus area to make a privacy-compliant data exchange platform for banks. The technology was further expanded to cover industries such as telecom, travel, banking, insurance, health, and education.

The company has partnered with leading organisations such as UN Women, GPay, ICICI Bank, Paytm, Airtel, and Haryana government. 

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Onboarding Dolphin Chat

Saurabh and Ashish had known each other since 2017. At that time, Ashish was heading a venture called Dolphin Chat (formerly known as CivilCops) aimed at bridging the gap between the general public and the various government departments. 

“We began by addressing the issue that citizens often do not know which government authorities they should approach for different concerns. With DolphinChat, we wanted to create a single platform for citizens to interact with the government while the latter can provide an automated system for responding to queries,” explains Ashish.

The Dubai government recognised Dolphin Chat among the global top 10 solutions for smart cities. After working with the Haryana government, United Nations and B2C commerce brands, the company was merged into Verismart to use the technologies of both companies to develop a super app. 

Operating in the Gulf

The Verismart team feels that the Gulf is an ideal place for those who want to come up with innovative solutions. 

“It’s a no-brainer for anyone because the Gulf has always been a forward-looking geography. The entire economy, as well as the government, has always been inclined towards adopting new solutions for blockchain-driven platforms,” adds Saurabh. 

While Verismart is trying to develop a geography-agnostic platform, the team’s primary challenge has been to understand the market of any geography and the target audience. Despite pandemic-induced hiccups in establishing a team in the Gulf, Verismart has observed quick adoption in the region in various sectors—be it BFSI, telecom, insurance, or smart governance. 

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Future plans

According to Markets and Markets, the global regtech market is expected to grow from $7.6 billion in 2021 to $19.5 billion by 2026 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 20.8%.

Verismart is currently raising funds for expansion plans in the UAE. The team is working towards creating a standardised onboarding system for customers from different geographies so that the technology can be adopted in different countries. The startup also plans to further develop its product into different consortiums such as health, travel, and insurance.

(The article was updated to correct a typo.)