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Financial Institution Letter

FDIC and FinCEN Launch Digital Identity Tech Sprint

January 11, 2021  |  FIL-04-2022

Summary:

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) today announced a Tech Sprint to develop solutions for financial institutions and regulators to help measure the effectiveness of digital identity proofing- the process used to collect, validate, and verify information about a person.  Read more about FDIC and FinCEN’s Tech Sprint, Measuring the Effectiveness of Digital Identity Proofing for Digital Financial Services.

Statement of Applicability: This Financial Institution Letter (FIL) applies to all FDIC-supervised financial institutions and FDIC-insured financial institutions.

Highlights:

  • The FDIC’s Tech Lab, FDITECH, and FinCEN are launching a Tech Sprint, challenging participants to identify a novel approach to develop solutions for financial institutions, particularly community banks, and regulators to help measure the effectiveness of digital identity proofing of individuals opening a new account in a remote banking environment.
  • Digital identity proofing is a foundational element to enable digital financial services to function properly. This element is challenged by the proliferation of compromised personally identifiable information (PII), the increasing use of synthetic identities, and the presence of multiple, varied approaches for identity proofing.
  • In an effort to increase efficiency and account security; reduce fraud and other forms of identity-related crime, money laundering and terrorist financing; and foster customer confidence in the digital banking environment, FDIC and FinCEN  seek solutions to measure the effectiveness of digital identity proofing for greater reliance in assessment and calibration of risk, by having Tech Sprint participants answer the question:
  • “What is a scalable, cost-efficient, risk-based solution to measure the effectiveness of digital identity proofing to ensure that individuals who remotely (i.e., not in person) present themselves for financial activities are who they claim to be?”

  • In the coming weeks, FDIC and FinCEN will open registration for this Tech Sprint. Interested individuals will have approximately two weeks to submit applications. The Tech Sprint will encompass a review of applications, grouping of individuals into teams that will work together over the course of approximately three weeks to develop solutions to this challenge question, and invitations to participate in a virtual “Demo Day” of short  team presentations to a panel of experts for  evaluation
  • At the conclusion of the Tech Sprint, the FDIC will publish all team presentations and recognize teams based upon several criteria detailed in the forthcoming prize notice. Neither the FDIC nor FinCEN are offering monetary prizes associated with the Tech Sprint.

Read more about FDIC and FinCEN’s Tech Sprint, Measuring the Effectiveness of Digital Identity Proofing for Digital Financial Services. Additional questions about the Tech Sprint may be sent to Innovation@FDIC.gov.

Related Topics:

Bank Secrecy Act
Consumer Compliance/ Protection
Deposit Insurance
Fintech
Information Technology
Third-Party Relationships