To make it easier for people to sign up and start trading cryptocurrency, Ramp is launching a new program where the only two hoops customers have to jump through are providing a tax identification number and a selfie.
The company believes that by eliminating the need for potential customers to send a high-quality photo of their government-issued ID, more people will sign up. Ramp launches its first service in Brazil, South America’s largest economy.
“By reducing barriers to entry, documentless KYC can play a pivotal role in driving mass adoption of digital currencies,” Jose Jimenez-Mancha, Ramp’s chief commercial officer, told The Block. “We will first launch documentless KYC in Brazil and plan to roll it out to other regions by 2024.”
This update to Ramp’s KYC policy follows integration with Pix, Brazil’s national digital payments platform. The move, announced last September, is also designed to streamline onboarding customers in the country of more than 200 million people. Pix, a smartphone app that allows users to purchase goods and send money to each other, is used by the majority of Brazilians. The government launched Pix in 2021.
Real picture
Not requiring people to provide a photo of their government ID means Ramp must perform the necessary due diligence to ensure KYC protocols are performed efficiently and people keep their identities intact. However, Ramp is not working directly with the Brazilian government, but instead working with third parties that can perform the necessary checks, the company said.
The company said the new initiative will benefit users who want Ramp to join its integrated platform, including MetaMask, TrustWallet, BitPay, and Sorare.
In 2022, Ramp raised $70 million in Series B funding, giving it a valuation of at least $450 million at the time.
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