Credify — Mission Statement, Products and Research Directions
The goal of this post is share more information about Credify with the Medium community, providing a window into our mission statement, products and research interests.
- Introducing Credify
Credify is a Singapore-based company focusing on identity and data-sharing applications, with an emphasis on empowering end-consumers through privacy assurances and fair monetisation of their data.
Credify was founded in 2019 and is led by co-founders Makoto Tominaga and Shu Nagao, who have a wealth of experience in technology and entrepreneurship. At Credify, we regard our human capital as our greatest asset. We are fortunate to have assembled a diverse and geographically dispersed team with expertise in a variety of disciplines, spanning engineering, economics, finance and social sciences.
Earlier this year, Credify completed its seed funding round with participation from two leading ASEAN Venture Capital firms — BEENEXT and DEEPCORE. In addition, Credify was selected to take part in the Plug and Play Tokyo Fintech Acceleration Program. Last year, Credify won the UK Tech Rocketship: Future of Financial Services award, sponsored by the UK’s Department of International Trade and Scottish Development International. Most recently, Credify became a member of the Singapore Fintech Association, a cross-industry non-profit initiative to facilitate a collaborative research agenda.
2.1 The identity problem
In the conduct of day-to-day life, our online footprint generates a ton of data. This data can carry useful information about our identity, our preferences and even our relationship to other persons. This user data is a valuable resource, and companies are keen to aggregate data about their user base to influence in-platform choices. This discrimination can be positive, for example if a user is willing to receive tailored recommendations about products that satisfy their preferences. At the same time, discrimination can be negative, for instance if platforms adopt a prejudicial treatment of users from certain geographies or communities.
There are also instances in which these platforms (data aggregators) have failed to observe ethical practices in their role as gatekeepers of user data. The Cambridge Analytica scandal is the most prominent, but not last, in a series of exploits that have been unmasked by the media. While this scandal did lead to a temporary focus amongst regulators on data companies’ concentrated power, the current systems remain far from transparent, fair or consumer-centric.
There is an even more socially significant dimension to the identity challenge. Many citizens in less developed economies possess no form of state ID. This lack of identifiability complicates government or humanitarian action when faced with a national crisis or global catastrophe, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, it bars impersonal commerce and access to financial services. The “unbanked” are typically a subset of the “unidentified”, relegated to conducting economic activity within the informal sector and with little prospect of sparking economic growth.
2.2 idX — Power to the users
Credify’s solution to the identity problem is idX, a personal data management service and suite of applications. idX comprises a bottom-up response to this challenge, where users can sign up to the platform to create their very own data locker. Once the onboarding and verification process is complete, users are able to link their social media profiles, (where applicable) national IDs, and receive in-app rewards for doing so. Through this process, users are effectively creating a data passport for their personal data.
In turn, users are able to share information about their identity and data with select third parties, such as e-commerce marketplaces or financial institutions, in a controlled environment. This disclosure can be selective, allowing users to reveal only certain personal data points (such as their age and nationality). In exchange for disclosing information, users will also receive rewards from third parties in the form of vouchers, discounts and special offers.
idX has been engineered from the ground-up with a user-centric approach. To ensure that privacy is observed, Credify leverages a variety of cryptographic techniques. These prevents any unauthorised third parties from accessing user information without their consent, but also Credify itself from abusing its role as a data broker.
idX is at an advanced stage of development and will be released to iOS and Android users soon. In the meantime, check out this demo showing the application at work.
3.1 The siloed data challenge
The other side of the equation is, of course, the user data that companies already possess. Vast quantities of data are currently trapped in organisational silos. This system is opaque, as many users are unaware of the data that companies collect and generate about them. In addition, it is economically inefficient for companies wishing to learn more about their customers to start their due diligence from scratch. The process of acquiring and verifying user information consumes time and resources.
Financial institutions are a prime example of companies that are confronted with this problem when assessing new client applications. These institutions are typically required by law to undertake know-your-customer (KYC) processes. Once this process is completed and the cost has been sunk, the institutions have made a relationship-specific investment that fails to meet its maximum utility for both parties.
This challenge is also addressed by our idX product. idX serves as a bridge between data silos while keeping the user in control of what, when and with whom their personal data is shared. Organisations are incentivised to allow users to passport their data through idX’s monetisation channel, where data consuming companies pay only for what the users have authorised them to access. We will expand on this dynamic in the following subsection.
3.2 serviceX — A frictionless onboarding experience
Credify has also developed a platform (serviceX) that allows participating organisations to make targeted offers to each other’s user bases. This service interfaces idX too, as users are required to give their consent before their data can be accessed. In effect, serviceX is a platform for data discovery and acquisition, enabling companies to identify mutually attractive data-sharing opportunities.
We think that serviceX can be a powerful ally for business-to-consumer companies. By enabling these companies to select the attributes for the users that they wish to target (e.g. adult users in ASEAN countries), they can drastically increase their acquisition rates and revenues. serviceX also facilitates the onboarding process for these new users. If they choose to accept an offer, serviceX will handle the creation of a new account in the offeror’s platform. Importantly, the entire process will be recorded on idX, so users can always monitor which companies they have chosen to share their data with.
By way of example, a marketplace may be willing to share data about one of its users with a financial institution that is evaluating said user’s credit risk for the purpose of extending a loan.
In effect, serviceX facilitates the formation of a multi-lateral market for data, in which every stakeholder in the transaction can benefit from the exchange.
- Data providers receive a fee from data-consumers, enabling them to monetise an idle resource.
- Data consumers are able to draw information from a trusted commercial partner who has the benefit of having interacted with a user for a prolonged period of time.
- End users are empowered too, as their consent to the transfer is required. This mechanic forces data-consumers to adequately incentivise end-users with rewards, spanning offers to outright monetary compensation.
In short, we have created a system that is transparent, flexible and — most importantly — fair.
serviceX is at an advanced stage of development and undergoing pilots with commercial partners. If you are excited about this product, go ahead and check out our demo!
4. Research directions — fintech
The team’s current focus is on finalising the idX and serviceX products. On a forward-looking basis, Credify is exploring applications in the domain of finance. In particular, we plan to extend idX to facilitate lending and the provision of third party collateral in a system we call trustX.
Consider the following scenario. Alice is willing to lend some spare cash to generate a return by way of interest. In turn, Bob wishes to borrow money to finance a business opportunity. Alice does not know much about Bob, so she needs some form of credible commitment from Bob, or a signal about his likelihood to default. Carol is a personal friend of Bob who is willing to place some collateral on his behalf to facilitate the transaction. When Bob pays back the loan, she will receive a portion of the interest as compensation for her vouching services.
This fintech use case can be particularly powerful in the informal economy, where the are strong local information networks and reputation carries significant weight. In short, it can serve as a means of providing credit to the unbanked.
In addition, the use case can be scaled to enable companies to participate in the process. The transactional lifecycle is automated through the use of smart contract technology, with certain actions being triggered when a particular event occurs (such as the distribution of interest on repayment or the seizing of collateral on default). This can give rise to cost savings for commercial lenders and open the door for funding opportunities with a social impact.
Last, we plan to explore applications of machine learning to generate credit scores for users based on alternative data sources (including social media). Not only would this facilitate financial institutions’ modelling of credit risk, but it may also enable users with no verifiable financial history to gain access to financing on fairer terms.
Want to learn more?
We hope that this outline has sparked your interest. If you are a talented software engineer or business development manager based in the ASEAN region, please note that we are hiring! For more information about Credify and our products, check us out at https://credify.one or visit our LinkedIn page at https://www.linkedin.com/company/credifyone.
