ExtraMile by WisdomPlexus is a thought-provoking interview series featuring industry leaders and trendsetters. In each session, we discuss the newest technologies, marketing trends, security practices, and more.
In today’s discussion, we are accompanied by Javier Mira, the Co-Founder and CEO of the leading digital identity verification solution provider, Facephi. The firm has been empowering over 300 customers across 25 nations to overcome security challenges in the tech-first era.
Our guest, Javier, is an expert with over two decades of experience in global business and leadership. Alongside that, he has been a thought leader in biometrics, innovation, entrepreneurship, and digital transformation. In the conversations, we’ll dive into the major motivations to establish Facephi while evaluating the firm’s contribution to strengthening digital identity verification services.
Welcome, Javier, glad to have you with us today!
Q1. Facephi has developed into a worldwide digital identity solution leader since its establishment in 2012. What motivated you to establish this company, and how did you realize the market demand for secure digital identity verification?
Javier. The idea behind Facephi started to take shape around 2010, when I first came into contact with early-stage facial recognition technology developed overseas. At the time, my professional background was mainly in the fashion and footwear industry, although I had previously worked at Fujitsu, where I gained first-hand experience with innovation and technology across international markets, particularly in Japan. That global exposure opened my eyes to the possibilities emerging in digital identity.
Testing that technology in Alicante for the first time was a turning point. I often say that entrepreneurship runs in my DNA, it’s something I inherited from my family, and it’s been fueled by years of working across different sectors and geographies. Once we saw the potential, we decided to take the leap. It wasn’t just about launching a company; it was about solving a major problem: how to verify someone’s identity in a secure, convenient, and future-proof way.
By 2012, we had built our own algorithm, assembled a strong team of eight people, and shaped a product ready to meet a growing market need. From the very beginning, we were convinced that facial recognition would replace traditional credentials like passwords. We believed the future of identity would be something you are, not something you know.
That conviction became our north star. In the early days, our technology was already being designed for mobile-first experiences, which aligned perfectly with the digital transformation of the banking sector. As financial institutions shifted from web to mobile apps, they needed secure, user-friendly ways to onboard and authenticate customers remotely — and we were ready to deliver exactly that.
The pandemic marked a major acceleration point for us, but more importantly, it was a turning point for the world. It highlighted the urgent need for secure, touchless, and scalable identity systems. As a result, identity verification has gone from being a backend security feature to becoming a core element of user experience and trust.
Facephi started as a startup, with all the intensity, agility, and passion that entails — but today, we are firmly in our growth stage. We’ve built a scalable business model, we are expanding globally with offices and teams in Latin America, Asia and Europe, and our technology is trusted by some of the world’s leading banks. Our product portfolio has also grown significantly: we now offer a full identity verification that includes ID document verification, passive liveness detection, behavioral biometrics, and advanced anti-fraud tools.
We’re living in a time when identity is at the center of everything, from accessing your bank account to boarding a plane or receiving healthcare. The old model based on passwords is simply no longer sufficient. What’s needed now is a frictionless, secure, and privacy-respecting way to prove who we are and that’s the challenge Facephi is committed to solving. As we look ahead, we see digital identity not just as a security layer, but as a foundation for inclusion, innovation, and digital trust in the years to come.
Q2. With more than 300 clients and a 95% retention rate, the company evidently provides superior value. What do you believe differentiates your solutions from others in digital onboarding and biometric authentication?
Javier. Among Facephi’s main advantages over the majority of competitors in the biometric and digital authentication sector is our ability to offer a fast, secure, and frictionless user experience.
In the onboarding process, we integrate technologies such as passive liveness detection, which verifies the user’s identity without requiring movement or additional interaction — enhancing the experience and reducing drop-off rates. Thanks to our automatic OCR and intelligent document detection, the full registration can be completed in under 10 seconds, representing a significant improvement compared to more rigid market alternatives.
When it comes to authentication, we offer a multimodal solutions that includes facial, voice, fingerprint, and behavioural recognition. Unlike other providers who focus solely on facial biometrics or document scanning, Facephi enables a more accurate, adaptable, and continuous verification process.
Our platform also allows clients to design fully customizable workflows using no-code tools, simplifying integration without the need for additional development. Furthermore, our solutions are characterised by minimal UX friction, ensuring authentication processes are quick, intuitive, and free from repeated errors.
Finally, our technology is highly scalable and comes with real-time operational metrics, helping to reduce operational costs and improve performance oversight. Altogether, this makes Facephi an efficient, cost-effective, and innovation-leading choice in biometric technology.
Q3. Facephi has just acquired a €5 million investment by Hancom Group, as well as an APAC distribution exclusivity agreement. How will your partnership drive expansion, particularly within Asia’s emerging tech economies, faster?
Javier. Facephi has been operating in Asia since 2019, when we opened our first subsidiary in South Korea. This new phase builds on the relationships and learning we’ve cultivated over the past five years. With Hancom, we’re turning that presence into a solid growth engine and ultimately, into leadership in one of the most strategically important tech ecosystems globally.
The strategic partnership with Hancom Group marks a key milestone in Facephi’s international expansion in the APAC region.This €5 million investment, combined with the exclusive distribution agreement, is not just about capital it’s about long-term alignment and shared vision. Hancom is a highly respected tech group in South Korea, with deep experience in digital transformation and a strong presence across Asia.
Q4. Digital identity fraud and identity theft are increasingly critical issues globally. How does the technology of Facephi remain proactive against changing security threats while adhering to legislation such as GDPR and AML?
Javier. Facephi operates at the intersection of innovation and regulation and that’s exactly where we’ve built our competitive advantage. From day one, we’ve focused on serving highly regulated industries like banking, where compliance, security, and privacy are not optional, but mission-critical.
Born within the framework of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) has fundamentally shaped how we design and deliver our solutions. We’ve developed our technology with a privacy-first mindset, incorporating by default the most stringent requirements around data protection, user consent, and transparency. That positioning has allowed us not only to ensure full compliance with European standards, but also to anticipate and exceed the expectations of other international regulatory environments including in emerging markets.
We don’t just verify identities at onboarding we enable continuous and contextual verification throughout the entire customer lifecycle. This is made possible by integrating perpetual KYC (pKYC) processes, which allow for ongoing monitoring of user identity and risk signals in real time.
Moreover, we automate checks against global sanctions lists, politically exposed persons (PEPs), and regulatory watchlists, while applying robust encryption (AES-256), tokenization, and secure data storage in certified cloud environments. Our technology is also validated by independent entities like iBeta and NIST, ensuring full technical and legal reliability.
In short, Facephi was built for industries where trust is everything. And today, as digital identity becomes central to economic activity and digital inclusion, we continue to lead by helping organizations strike the right balance between compliance, innovation, and user trust.
Q5. Apart from finance, you cater to sectors such as healthcare, travel, and public administration. According to you, which sector is the next big opportunity for digital identity solutions, and why?
Javier. Finance was the first industry to embrace digital identity due to its regulatory complexity and fraud risks, but today we see significant opportunities emerging across multiple sectors.
One key vertical is air travel and mobility. Our recent proof of concept with IATA (International Air Transport Association) demonstrates how biometric identity verification can transform passenger experiences by enabling fast, secure, and touchless journeys from check-in to boarding.
This momentum in travel closely ties with the evolving needs of public administration, where digital identity plays a crucial role in enabling citizens’ access to government services securely and remotely. The future of public services depends on seamless, interoperable digital identity solutions that foster public-private collaboration to ensure trust, privacy, and compliance. These partnerships are essential for building robust, scalable identity ecosystems that serve millions of users while respecting regulatory frameworks.
Additionally, emerging sectors like gaming and digital entertainment are adopting identity solutions to comply with regulations around age verification and fraud prevention.
What unites these sectors is a clear understanding that digital identity is not just a security requirement — it is a foundational element for delivering trusted, user-centric digital experiences.
Q6. You have been a keynote speaker at large conferences such as Money 20/20 and RSA Conference. What message would you like to share, or what do you wish companies should remember about the future of biometrics and digital identity?
Javier. Every time I speak at major industry events, I try to leave one message very clear: digital identity is not about technology alone, it’s about trust. We are entering a new era where the ability to verify who we are, seamlessly and securely, will define how we access services, protect our rights, and participate in the digital economy.
Biometrics is a powerful enabler, but it must be deployed with responsibility. The future of digital identity will depend on our capacity to build systems that are not only secure and efficient, but also ethical, inclusive and privacy-first. It’s not just about preventing fraud it’s about creating digital environments that people can genuinely trust. We must also acknowledge that regulation will play an increasingly central role.
Another key message I always share is that digital identity is becoming a horizontal layer across industries. We started with banking, for example but it’s now expanding to gaming, travel and beyond. This means companies need to prepare for a world where identity isn’t just part of their onboarding it’s embedded throughout the user journey.
If there’s one thing I would encourage companies to remember, it’s this: the winners in digital identity will be those who build trust, not just infrastructure. And that starts by putting people at the center of everything we create.
Q7. What is the next innovation you are excited about at Facephi? Are there any upcoming projects or technologies you would like to share with us?
Javier. At Facephi, we’re entering a stage where innovation is driven by the need to stay ahead of increasingly sophisticated fraud, not just responding to threats, but anticipating them. That’s why we’re focusing on making identity verification more intelligent, continuous, and contextual.
In the short term, we’re rolling out powerful new solutions and functionalities that take our platform beyond onboarding. One of them is mule account detection, a growing issue in financial crime. We're developing models capable of identifying anomalous patterns during the account creation process, helping institutions block these operations before they become a legal or reputational risk.
Another one is Behavioural Biometrics, this technology analyses over 3,000 contextual signals, typing rhythm, interactions, location, history, and builds a unique profile for each user, a true “cyber DNA”.
Or Advanced Injection Attack Defense for Digital Identity Verification, a premium multi-layer defense solution designed to protect digital identity verification against image, video, and deepfake injection attacks, reinforcing the integrity of KYC, onboarding, and authentication processes.
For us, innovation means building technology that’s not only reactive, but predictive, and helps our clients stay ahead of what’s next in fraud and identity. That’s where we see the future, and that’s where we’re heading.
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