Heka vs Socure (2026)
This is a choice between a full identity verification and decisioning platform and an outside identity layer added to one, and Heka sells itself as the layer that runs beside Socure, not instead of it. Socure works out who an applicant is and makes the call: customer identification and watchlist checks, document and biometric verification, the Social Security Administration's eCBSV check and Sigma models for third party, synthetic and first party fraud, assembled into onboarding flows in RiskOS without code, with model governance documents for the Sigma models available to validators on request. Heka neither verifies documents nor decides. It asks whether an applicant's digital footprint, social presence, contact data, public records and breach exposure agree, and returns a 0 to 100 score with the source behind each signal, aimed at applicants who have already cleared verification. Socure reports more than 3,000 customers, among them 19 of the top 20 American banks, and runs a separate government cloud. Heka's fraud results come from unnamed lenders, and its named customers are UK pension schemes. Both keep the outside data suppliers behind their fraud scores unnamed.
- Applicants clear Socure or a similar check and fraud still gets through. Heka was built as the next layer and asks whether the identity exists anywhere outside the application.
- Reviewers want evidence rather than a bare score. Heka attaches the source to each signal, from a phone first seen days ago to an address shared with unrelated identities.
- Pension members need tracing abroad. Heka's tracing followed one scheme's members into 61 countries and confirms deaths from funeral notices and family tributes.
- Underwriters want adverse findings sorted for them. Heka labels legal, affiliation, media and anomaly findings as material, review required or clear to proceed, each with a severity and its sources.
- Onboarding needs verification, screening and fraud scoring from one vendor. Socure covers customer identification, watchlists, document and biometric checks and Sigma fraud models in one platform.
- Risk teams want to change onboarding flows without engineers. RiskOS sets accept, review and escalate thresholds in workflows built without code.
- Model validators need documentation in hand. Socure releases model governance documents for Sigma Synthetic and Sigma All v4 on request through its trust center.
- Public sector or federal work is in scope. Socure runs a separate government cloud and lists a FedRAMP Moderate authorization alongside SOC 2 Type 2 and ISO 27001.
This comparison is published by AI FinTech Index, an independent research platform that publishes independent ratings of AI vendors for financial services. Heka and Socure 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
| Heka | Socure | |
|---|---|---|
| Primary category | Fraud Detection & Transaction Risk | AML, KYC & Financial Crime |
| Founded | 2021 | Not published |
| Headquarters | New York, New York, United States | Not published |
| Website | hekaglobal.com | www.socure.com |
Side by Side
Select any grade to read the note behind it.
| Axis | H Heka |
S Socure |
|---|---|---|
| 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
Heka
Heka adds identity intelligence after verification has passed. For lenders, banks, card issuers and fintechs, it gathers an applicant's digital footprint, social presence, contact data, public records and breach exposure, checks whether the sources agree and returns a 0 to 100 identity risk score with the source behind each signal, through an API, a batch file or an analyst workflow. A card issuer's retrospective test cut false positives from 5.7 to 3.5 percent at the same detection rate. Heka also traces pension members and supplies underwriting findings.
Source: AI FinTech Index, 2026
Socure
Socure runs an AI identity verification and risk decisioning platform for financial institutions, covering customer identification, sanctions and watchlist screening, document and biometric checks and identity fraud. Its Sigma models score third party, synthetic and first party fraud from an identity graph of hundreds of billions of entities, RiskOS assembles onboarding and compliance workflows without code, and it offers the Social Security Administration's eCBSV check. Socure reports more than 3,000 customers, including 19 of the top 20 American banks, and runs a separate government cloud for public agencies.
Source: AI FinTech Index, 2026
Common questions
Should a bank replace Socure with Heka?
No, according to the AI FinTech Index, because the two do different jobs: Socure verifies the applicant and makes the decision, while Heka adds evidence about whether an identity holds together once verification has passed, which is how Heka sells itself.
How do Heka and Socure handle synthetic identities?
Socure scores synthetic fraud with its Sigma models and can confirm a name, birth date and Social Security number through eCBSV. Heka looks for identities with a sparse or very recent digital footprint, contact details shared with other applicants, or details that disagree across sources. Graded by AI FinTech Index against the same capability axes from each vendor's own published materials, verified October 12, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
Can a person correct the data Heka or Socure holds about them?
Socure lets consumers access and correct what it holds about them in its identity graph, which changes the data that future checks read. A person traced by Heka for a pension scheme can ask the scheme to correct or delete their data, and Heka forwards any such request to that client. Graded by AI FinTech Index against the same capability axes from each vendor's own published materials, verified October 12, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
Where do Heka and Socure host data?
Heka stores all data on AWS in Ireland. Socure names Snowflake, Google Cloud and Amazon as infrastructure and runs a separate government cloud alongside its commercial platform. Graded by AI FinTech Index against the same capability axes from each vendor's own published materials, verified October 12, 2026. No vendor pays for placement.
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.
Socure's privacy notice describes its outside data suppliers only as data vendors, and Heka names the sources behind its pension tracing but not the breach sources behind its fraud score. Heka's Series A was led by Windare Ventures, with Barclays and Cornèr Banca taking part.