Entrust vs IDnow (2026)
A bank comparing these two is choosing between identity verification sold inside a broad security and card issuance company and a European specialist that runs its own trust services and video specialists. Entrust sells the former Onfido platform: AI biometrics and document intelligence, orchestrated without code in Workflow Studio, with the verified identity reused for passkeys, account recovery, high risk transactions and workforce access through Microsoft Entra and Okta. Principal Financial Group went from vendor selection to full deployment in under five months. IDnow automates the same document and selfie checks in AutoIdent, adds more than 775 trained specialists for live video verification, issues qualified signatures from its own trust service provider in Sweden and hosts every product inside the European Union, naming each data center and subprocessor. Both offer qualified electronic signatures in the onboarding flow, so the choice turns on what else the bank wants from the vendor: a security platform and card printers, or regulated European identification with people on the call. Neither publishes a price per check.
- The verified identity should carry into authentication later. Entrust reuses it for passkeys, step up checks on high risk transactions and account recovery.
- Employees and contractors need the same verification as customers. Entrust's workforce product works inside Microsoft Entra Verified ID and Okta Workforce Identity.
- Cards are handed over at the branch. Entrust also sells instant financial card issuance systems, so verification and issuance come from one supplier.
- Journeys change often and engineering time is scarce. Workflow Studio lets a team design and adjust onboarding checks without code, approving clear cases automatically and routing risk to review.
- Regulated customers in Germany or France need live video identification. IDnow's VideoIdent puts a trained specialist on the call, from ident centers the bank chooses.
- Hosting must stay inside the European Union with every location named. IDnow lists the data center behind each product, from Nuremberg and Aschheim to Frankfurt and Paris.
- A security review needs documents on day one. IDnow's public trust center offers its ISO 27001:2022 certificate and signature component certificates for download, with audit and penetration test reports for customers.
- Fraud signals should reach beyond the document. IDnow's Risk Intelligence reads device, email, phone number and location signals and spots faces and templates reused across sessions.
This comparison is published by AI FinTech Index, an independent research platform that publishes independent ratings of AI vendors for financial services. Entrust and IDnow are each graded against the same capability taxonomy, from each vendor's own public materials and the regulatory record, under the AI FinTech Index verification standard. No vendor pays for placement, and no vendor has reviewed this page. How this evidence is graded
Plain facts
| Entrust | IDnow | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary category | AML, KYC & Financial Crime | AML, KYC & Financial Crime |
| Founded | Not published | 2014 |
| Headquarters | Shakopee, Minnesota, United States | Munich, Germany |
| Website | www.entrust.com/products/identity-verification | idnow.io |
Side by Side
Select any grade to read the note behind it.
| Axis | E Entrust |
I IDnow |
|---|---|---|
| AI Centrality | ||
| Autonomy and Oversight Model | ||
| Model Risk Management and Transparency | ||
| Operational and Outcome Evidence | ||
| AI Safety and Data Stewardship | ||
| GLBA and Data Privacy Posture | ||
| Security Certifications and Trust Center | ||
| Regulatory Status and Licensure | ||
| AI Governance and Bias Disclosure | ||
| AI Liability and Recourse | ||
| Model Supply Chain Disclosure | ||
| Core Systems and Integration Depth | ||
| Deployment Model and Data Residency | ||
| Commercial Transparency | ||
| Institution and Segment Coverage |
The short version of each
Entrust
Entrust, the security company behind card issuance systems, digital certificates and hardware security modules, sells identity verification built on the former Onfido technology. AI biometrics and document intelligence check a document and selfie for deepfakes, injection attacks and synthetic identities, backed by its Fraud Lab, and Workflow Studio orchestrates the checks without code. Financial services, workforce, government, healthcare and gig platforms each get their own material. Principal Financial Group, Revolut, GetAround and the UK Home Office's travel authorization system are named customers.
Source: AI FinTech Index, 2026
IDnow
IDnow serves banks, lenders, insurers, crypto firms and telecoms from Munich, with offices in Berlin, Dusseldorf, London and Rennes and more than 500 staff. Its products run from automated AutoIdent checks and specialist led VideoIdent to IDCheck for France, Risk Intelligence fraud signals, and qualified signatures and seals from IDnow Trust Services AB. TF Bank cut its processing time by 99.9 percent and raised conversion 10 percent with AutoIdent and an instant signature, and Hanseatic Bank and AIB are named customers.
Source: AI FinTech Index, 2026
Common questions
Which one keeps data inside the European Union?
IDnow names it product by product: VideoIdent and AutoIdent run at Noris Network in Nuremberg and Aschheim, IDCheck at BLUE in Brittany, and the Trust Platform on AWS in Frankfurt and Paris, with master keys in IDnow's own hardware security modules. Entrust lets the bank keep verification data in an AWS instance in the European Union, though support and review staff at its outsourcing firms can reach that data from India, Vietnam and Bulgaria. Graded by AI FinTech Index against the same capability axes from each vendor's own published materials, verified October 13, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
Which one puts a person on the call?
IDnow, as a product in its own right: VideoIdent connects the customer with a trained specialist, and automated journeys can fall back to one. Entrust's orchestration approves clear cases automatically and routes only genuine risk to review. Graded by AI FinTech Index against the same capability axes from each vendor's own published materials, verified October 13, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
How does each handle electronic signatures?
Both bring qualified electronic signatures into onboarding. IDnow issues them itself through IDnow Trust Services AB, a qualified trust service provider supervised in Sweden. Entrust offers qualified signatures for contract signing within its digital signing products, linking the verified identity to the signature with audit ready evidence. Graded by AI FinTech Index against the same capability axes from each vendor's own published materials, verified October 13, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
Which one goes further beyond onboarding?
Entrust, through the rest of its company. In the AI FinTech Index, Entrust's verification connects into authentication, workforce access and card issuance, while IDnow's reach after onboarding runs to fraud signals, authentication and signing.
Related comparisons
Other published head to head assessments involving these vendors or their closest peers. The full set for this category is on the Fraud Detection & Transaction Risk page.
Entrust Identity Verification is the former Onfido product, now part of Entrust Corporation. Corsair Capital owns the majority of IDnow. Customer results for both vendors come from their own materials.