Jumio Inc. has formed the Bitcoin Identity Security Open Network (Bison) to enable its clients to share fraud trend data.
The company formed Bison in response to interest it saw from Bitcoin companies that wanted to use its identity authentication software.
"These businesses are seeking some way to do KYC (know your customer vetting) on their customers but want to do it in a way that is efficient and doesn't hurt the transaction," says Marc Barach, chief marketing officer at Jumio.
The members have group meetings to discuss any products and features they need, he says.
Once transaction volumes increase enough to create a stable set of data, the companies will be able to share aggregated data for fraud screening, he says.
And sometime this summer, Jumio will make it possible for Bison members to share identity information. This will allow a customer ID scanned by one Bison member to be used for authentication with another member.
"All the information will appear without the customer having to do anything which will be very convenient for the consumer in this shared network," Barach says.
Jumio will announce about 10 more Bitcoin companies as clients in mid-June, Barach says. It's also in talks with 30 more companies, he says.
Between 70% and 80% of consumers are verified when asked to authenticate their identity, Barach says. Of the remaining 20%, about 1% to 2% is fraudulent, he says.
