Brian Smythe - OCR Labs - Fintech Meetup 2023

Why It Matters

By delivering instant, unbiased identity verification, OCR Labs enables financial institutions to onboard customers faster, cut fraud risk, and meet tightening regulatory standards, giving them a competitive edge in the digital‑first economy.

Key Takeaways

• OCR Labs verifies 16,000+ documents across 220+ regions.
• Solution is 100% automated, delivering decisions in under 30 seconds.
• Zero-bias AI ensures no racial or ethnic discrimination in verification.
• Clients include Amex, BMW, Equifax; endorsed by Federal Reserve.
• Future focus on digital ID, instant payments, and upcoming fintech events.

Summary

At the Fintech Meetup 2023, OCR Labs President Brian Smythe outlined the company’s remote identity‑verification platform, positioning it as a cornerstone for the next wave of digital onboarding in finance and government.

Smythe highlighted that OCR Labs can scan more than 16,000 document types in over 220 countries and territories, supporting 142 languages. The service is fully automated—no human review—and returns a binary verification decision in under 30 seconds. The firm boasts 19 certifications, including recent endorsement by the Federal Reserve for instant‑payment compliance, and counts Amex, BMW and Equifax among its clients.

Key soundbites underscored the zero‑bias AI claim: “We have zero racial bias, whether you’re white, Black, Puerto Rican or Haitian.” He also referenced Tony Blair’s vision of universal digital ID and noted that California’s Real ID program is already testing similar technology.

If adopted broadly, OCR Labs’ speed and bias‑free model could reshape customer acquisition for banks, reduce fraud, and accelerate regulatory alignment worldwide. The push toward digital IDs and instant payments suggests the company is poised to become a critical infrastructure layer in the evolving fintech ecosystem.

Original Description

Brian Smythe, President of Americas at OCR Labs, shared insights about the company's global remote identity verification technology. OCR Labs verifies over 16,000 different documents in 220+ countries and territories and 142 different languages, helping companies like Amex, BMW, and Equifax to verify their customers. Their key differentiator is that they are 100% fully automated, with no human intervention.

"For us, our key differentiator is we are 100%, and I'll say it again, 100% fully automated. So there's no human intervention. You don't have to send the ID and wait for somebody to verify it."

"I think IDV is really key to the future of financial government and banking industries. Because they want to be able to onboard their customers effortlessly and efficiently, and that's one of our biggest missions is to verify people without any effort."