Main Acquires Majority Stake in ID Verification Specialist ReadID
February 23, 2022
Press Release
Main Capital Partners (“Main”) today announces the acquisition of a majority stake in InnoValor. InnoValor is the creator of ReadID, the leading global, mobile identity verification software provider using Near Field Communication technology (“NFC”).
ReadID contributes to the improvement of safety within transactions and the reduction of fraud worldwide, using innovative verification technology which reads NFC-chips present in identity documents. It also allows ID cards and passports to be easily verified using a smartphone, for example during the onboarding process of new banking customers or at border control points.
InnoValor represents the second platform investment from the Main Capital VII fund, which closed in October 2021 with a hard cap of EUR1 billion. This flagship fund targets majority investments in established software companies with an enterprise value ranging from EUR25 million up to EUR250 million. Investments can be both replacement capital as well as growth capital for add-on strategies and growth in general.
Safest and most accurate method of identity verification
Identity verification by means of NFC technology is widely known to be the most secure and accurate way of verifying identity documents, with the highest conversion. Unlike technologies such as optical verification, the ReadID technology is fully automated by making use of the smartphone to read and verify data from the chip inside the document. When combined with face verification, it is nearly impossible to commit identity fraud.
InnoValor is known as a pioneer in remote identity verification technology and was the first to roll out the NFC app worldwide when it launched ReadID on Android in 2014 and on iPhone in 2019 respectively. The technology is scalable worldwide as it is based on broadly accepted standards such as ICAO.
ReadID is already active in more than 18 countries with banks, financial institutions, governments, border control authorities, electronic identification and digital signature (“eIDAS”) trust services, plus many more. Its customers include the likes of the UK Home Office, Rabobank, ING, itsme, SK ID solutions and ASB Bank.
World’s largest digital on-boarding immigration identification programme
Since April 2019, the ReadID technology has been used by Home Office UK for its EU Settlement Scheme, to confirm the identity of European Economic Area-nationals living in the UK when applying for a UK immigration status. Since then, more than 6 million applications have been concluded, making this the world’s largest, most successful digital on-boarding immigration program using remote identity verification.
Strong partner for worldwide growth
Maarten Wegdam, CEO and co-founder of ReadID, said: “We are thrilled to join forces with Main. We chose Main as a partner for their down-to-earth approach and open dialogue. We trust that, together, we can both strengthen and accelerate the growth trajectory for our company.”
Wil Janssen, CMO and co-founder of ReadID, added:
“Strong ambitions need a strong partner. With Main’s experience and extensive network, we can expand internationally faster by opening more regional offices, as well as develop our product suite by adding more relevant partners. Our aim is to offer a full suite of safe, high-tech identity verification methods in the short term.”
Focus on R&D in high-growth software field
Main has extensive experience in the broader identity & access management market through its current portfolio companies Pointsharp (Sweden), Sivis (Germany) and Oribi (Netherlands). Through this investment in ReadID, Main now also enters the adjacent segment of identity verification, which is growing rapidly, accelerated by the need for digitisation during the Covid-19 pandemic. The expected growth of this segment is 30 – 40% per year until 2027.
Charly Zwemstra, Managing Partner of Main, commented:
“ReadID has already achieved great milestones in the development of first-class product technology and through winning a strong group of high-profile clients. We aim to help them expand into new geographies and strengthen their position in this fast-growing product market by sharing our experience and network. An important part of the strategy is to invest more in product development as well as in strengthening marketing and sales processes and by opening offices in new geographies while strengthening their partner ecosystem. Additionally, a selective buy-and-build strategy will be explored to boost the product offering.”
InnoValor develops the ReadID software that allows users to verify identity documents such as passport, ID cards and driving licenses by means of NFC on the smartphone. ReadID is originally a software product from research and consultancy firm InnoValor. The company, founded in 2013, has over 40 employees who serve an international customer base from its office in Enschede. InnoValor works closely together with leading providers of biometric technology (face recognition) from an orchestration role, in order to provide customers with an end-to-end solution. ReadID has proven to work with over 2,600 smartphone models. ReadID is ISO27001 & 27701 certified, SOC type 2 compliant, and has the eIDAS modules of certification High & Qualified Trust Service Providers.
