Going Global: Trulioo Helps Stake Give Customers More Access to Investment Markets

The Challenge

Stake wanted to fulfill its mission to give investors around the world easy, secure access to international markets but needed identity verification that could scale as the company expanded its global reach. 

Stake, which is based in Australia, was searching for a global partner that had the local expertise and cutting-edge technology to conduct due diligence, including Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer (KYC) checks, for every customer in any market. The company wanted that performance without disrupting the customer experience.

The investment platform also needed a partner that had the flexibility to meet changing demands in what is a dynamic and constantly evolving industry.

“We offer an unlimited, commission-free-based service, so we started testing the waters over here in Australia,” said Dan Silver, Stake’s chief operations officer. “But our goal has been to go global and work with global partners as much as we can – for example, global brokers and foreign exchange providers – and that includes our identity verification partner too.”

The Solution

Stake chose Trulioo because it’s a global leader in identity verification that can help the company expand across borders with security, speed and accuracy.

“We needed a seamless onboarding process, one that not only addresses the regulatory requirement but that also makes the process between sign-up and trading rapid and simple,” Silver said. “We were also looking for a partner that has a global footprint, that is able to scale with us as we grow. There was only one option, and that was Trulioo.”

The Trulioo identity platform provides secure access to more than 450 trusted data sources worldwide and can verify more than 5 billion people and 700 million business entities. Trulioo helps Stake quickly verify customers so they can deposit money through the app and start trading on the same day.

“When a customer signs up, we typically capture a large amount of information so we can create a U.S. brokerage account for them immediately,” Silver said. “Of course, this is checked against the kind of information we need to collect, which varies from country to country.” 

When Stake onboards customers, Trulioo provides secure, fast verification that detects fraud and ensures compliance. That process helps Stake build trust in its platform.

The Results

Stake has set a 70 to 75% internal requirement for registration pass rates, and Stake benchmarks that against Trulioo. The data informs the actions Stake takes to convert customers. 

“Key for us is being digital from the get-go,” Silver said. “Managing conversion from registration to funding is a major business KPI as it supports the cost-per-funded-customer metric, the lifeblood of our operation.”

He said there’s a direct correlation between smooth, real-time KYC checks and the likelihood a customer will deposit money into an account.

“When optimal onboarding is achieved with real-time identity verification, customers are almost 250% more likely to deposit funds into their Stake account,” Silver said. “That’s why we see identity verification as absolutely critical to our business.”

Stake has taken steps to improve the user experience during account creation by providing details about the onboarding process and the information customers must submit. The company gives people visibility into where they are in the process and provides an upload function to make it easier to submit identity documents.

“Our customers want to know that we are regulated and fully compliant within their market,” Silver said. “Whilst they want a smooth onboarding process, people also want the reassurance and confidence that we are taking their security seriously. We have to establish the feeling of legitimacy around our brand as a brokerage before we can expect people to deposit their money. That’s the balance that we look to achieve.”

Stake strives to combine world-class customer experiences and robust identity verification to protect its customers and ensure compliance in every market. The investment platform plans to continue partnering with Trulioo to achieve that goal.

About Stake

Stake is an Australian-based investment platform that challenges traditional banks and brokers on investing costs and user experience. Co-founded by Matt Leibowitz and Dan Silver, the company was built with the aim to give savvy Australian investors an opportunity to invest directly in some of the world’s largest companies through a secure yet sophisticated digital platform without having to pay the significant international fees charged by big banks and other brokers. Stake currently operates in Australia, New Zealand, Brazil and the U.K., with over 100,000 people active on the platform.

The platform is particularly popular among younger investors, with 83% of its active customers aged 44 and under. This next generation of investors is highly knowledgeable about technology and digital services, and they have high expectations around digital customer experiences and online security. Stake customers want a reliable, regulated and reputable partner for their trading. However, they don’t want the need for security and fraud to add complexity or delays to their use of the platform.