User-controlled verifiable credentials can be shared on-demand and are secured by cryptographic verifiability. Consumers are able to build secure reputation and trust that travels; businesses gain added protection from identity forgery, replay attacks, and takeover fraud.

The relationship between providers and consumers is often called the ‘trust triangle.’ This describes the relationship between consumers (holders), and businesses in the network that issue and verify user credentials. The key concept is that trust in the holder travels because their associated information is “vouched for” by trusted parties in the network and credential activity flows through the holder. Issuers and verifiers sign data using their own private keys, in effect adding a stamp of authenticity to data, metadata, and documents that can be reverified downstream.

In order to build a future in which claims about a user’s identity are self-controlled and reusable between and among providers, we wrap the best of traditional ID proofing and biometrics in reusable, secure, and user-permissioned format using verifiable credentials (VCs), decentralized identifiers (DIDs) and public-key infrastructure (PKI).

This lets Portabl become the first open finance identity platform that specifically uses decentralized identity technology to marry reusable KYC with strong authentication as a platform for new user experiences.