Citi Treasury Eyes Verification Tech To Support Faster Payments

Citi’s Treasury and Trade Solutions (TTS) is rolling out a new identity and account verification solution for corporate treasurer clients.

In a press release on Tuesday (May 7), Citi announced the launch of Citi Verify, which uses authentication solution provider GIACT Systems to validate corporate clients’ own U.S. customers before transacting with them. Citi Verify enables companies to access GIACT’s EPIC platform, which provides real-time identity verification and authentication services.

In a statement, Citi TTS North America Payments and Receivables Head Alberto Casas said the acceleration of corporate transactions has introduced a greater need for faster verification capabilities – which, in turn, will support adoption of faster payment capabilities.

“Citi Verify demonstrates our commitment to providing a seamless payment experience, especially at a time when the industry is moving toward real-time and tokenized payments,” he said. “Not only does Citi Verify provide a layer of assurance for our clients when onboarding new customers, it also addresses the major costs incurred across the industry from misdirected payments, such as ACH returns, and will significantly strengthen the case for institutional adoption of instant payments.

“Our clients will now have added visibility and assurance that their transactions will be processed successfully,” Casas added.

In addition to connecting corporate clients to GIACT services, Citi Verify will also loop them to an array of other identity verification and authentication services via API. Those additional services include customer intelligence, which Casas said “has become vital as the speed and volume of eCommerce, payment processing and digital onboarding continues to increase exponentially.”

Citi said its identity and account verification solution is now available to corporate clients in the U.S., and will integrate into the bank’s existing payments and accounts receivable solutions provided by Citi Treasury and Trade Solutions.