Irish platform valid8Me scores €12.5 million to manage KYC-related data

Customer onboarding has become a significant pain point for customers and businesses alike in recent years. With a lack of connectivity and shared thinking, businesses are spending a disproportionate amount of budget and time on manually validating, updating and storing documents.

Taking the challenge head on, Cork-based regtech startup Valid8me has raised €12.5 million in funding to further boost its SaaS platform to make customer onboarding more convenient and secure.

The investment from Grant Thornton Ireland will be used to increase the startup’s team size, accelerate its growth in Ireland and expansion into key markets abroad. The platform currently supports over 10,000 different document templates from 248 different countries.

Launched in 2021, the Irish startup wants to make customer onboarding an easier process while maintaining compliance. The company’s SaaS platform allows both individuals and corporations to securely store, share and manage their key Know-Your-Customer-related data.

Vali8me claims it reduces customer onboarding costs by 50% and onboarding time by up to 90%. Talking about how the platform is empowering consumers to maintain a reusable digital identity, Patrick Horgan, CEO of Valid8Me said: “The idea that consumers repeatedly share their most sensitive data, often through insecure channels, to prove their identity is archaic. Valid8Me is fundamentally different, we empower consumers to maintain a reusable digital identity that can be used universally across all industries. Our platform addresses an enormous challenge for businesses by enabling enhanced AML compliance in a radically future-proof and cost-effective way, whilst offering their clients a more secure and convenient experience”

Mick McAteer, managing partner of Grant Thornton Ireland said: “Valid8Me platform addresses the needs of our clients across a number of sectors, including financial services, legal, accounting, wealth management and real estate among others.”

Steve Tennant, head of financial services advisory at Grant Thornton Ireland added: “KYC and the process by which businesses look to on-board and verify client identities is broken. We deal with an increasing number of clients who are extremely challenged by the resource overhead in complying with AML & KYC regulatory obligations. Valid8Me is solving this problem and optimising the customer and client experience.”