On October 1st, we at Veridas brought together industry leaders at the Fintech House in Lisbon for our Identity & Business Day Portugal: a morning of strategic analysis on the future of identity, trust, and innovation. Our conclusion was clear: in the age of generative AI, digital identity verification is no longer a compliance requirement but has become the strategic pillar upon which the future of the financial sector and digital business will be built.
The New Paradigm: Fighting Fraud in the Age of AI
Our CEO, Eduardo Azanza, opened the day focusing on the most imminent challenge to digital security: the industrialization of identity fraud through generative AI. He warned that traditional identity solutions have become obsolete in the face of AI’s ability to create realistic impersonations at scale.
“If we don’t know who’s on the other side of the screen, we don’t have real digital transformation; we have fake digital transformation,” Azanza stated.
He stressed that modern biometrics is the only effective defense, as it is the only authentication method capable of confirming a person’s true identity. Additionally, he pointed out the significant influence of regulations such as eIDAS 2.0 and the EU’s AI Act, which are reshaping the identity framework throughout Europe.
The End of Friction: Uniting Security and User Experience
Our first panel of experts addressed one of the great dilemmas of digital onboarding: the apparent contradiction between a frictionless user experience and robust security. The conclusion was unanimous: not only are they compatible, but they are interdependent. As one panelist noted, “Insecurity is what creates uncertainty. Real-time identity verification eliminates it.”
The discussion explored how biometric solutions are becoming essential in high-interaction environments like contact centers. The main barrier to their mass adoption is not the technology, but the design of the experience: the onboarding process must be so natural and intuitive that the user does not hesitate to use it.
Identity as a Strategic Asset for Banking
Our final panel focused on the financial industry with a powerful message: identity can no longer be seen as a mere cost of regulatory compliance. It is a fundamental strategic asset. The speakers stressed the urgency of moving from a model of “presumed identity” to one of “verified identity” on an ongoing basis, using technologies such as biometrics, liveness detection, and renewable biometric references.
In this context, it was asserted that digital identity wallets are not the future. They are the next indispensable requirement to operate.
One of the most powerful ideas of the session framed the importance of this technological sovereignty at a continental level: “This is more important for Europe than the euro; it’s how we protect our digital space against external monopolies.”
Conclusion: Our Vision for the Next Frontier of Digital Trust
The Identity & Business Day Portugal served not only to analyze current challenges but also to chart the path that we at Veridas believe is the right one.
The age of AI demands a new standard of digital trust, one that can only be built on a foundation of verified, secure, and frictionless identity. The companies that lead this transition will not only protect themselves from fraud but will also build the most significant competitive advantage of the next decade.
