It is estimated that approximately one billion people across the world do not have access to an officially recognizable identity.

The accurate verification of identity is integral to the Know Your Customer (KYC) processes necessary for compliance with Anti-Money Laundering and Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) regulation. The inability of financial institutions to properly verify prospective clients will lead to financial exclusion.

Worsening this exclusion are KYC and customer due diligence CDD processes and requirements that limit the concept of identity to key documents (such as ID, proof of address and passport), yet these are relatively inaccessible to the underbanked and unbanked. As processes and economic activities become more digitized, the importance of digital identities become more pronounced and paper-based physical identities become less desirable.