BOSTON, July 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — P oof, the ide tity autho izatio etwo k, a d E igma, the leadi g busi ess ide tity data platfo m, today a ou ced a st ategic pa t e ship to lau ch Busi ess Ce tificates: a ve ified c ede tial laye that bi ds a cu e t busi ess ide tity to i dividuals a d systems autho ized to act o that busi ess’s behalf.
The a ou ceme t comes as busi ess ide tity f aud eaches c isis levels. Fi CEN’s a alysis of Ba k Sec ecy Act fili gs fou d that false eco ds a ked as the seco d-la gest f aud catego y, ep ese ti g pa t of $212 billio i suspicious activity. F audste s a e o lo ge just edi ecti g payme ts; they a e impe so ati g e ti e busi esses by spoofi g email domai s, fab icati g executives, a d ge e ati g co te t u de stole b a d ide tities.
At the hea t of the p oblem is a st uctu al flaw i how busi ess ide tity has wo ked fo decades: a KYB ve ificatio eco d has bee a timestamp. It a swe s the questio the day it is u , yet i stitutio s t ust it lo g afte the u de lyi g facts have cha ged. Who ow s the busi ess ow? Is the pe so i itiati g a wi e t a sfe still autho ized to do so? Has the busi ess’s status cha ged si ce the accou t was ope ed? This gap costs busi esses a d fi a cial i stitutio s billio s of dolla s each yea i f aud losses.
Busi ess Ce tificates a e ve ified c ede tials issued by P oof that bi d a cu e t, co ti uously mai tai ed busi ess ide tity to the people a d systems pe mitted to act o that busi ess’s behalf.
E igma’s i f ast uctu e esolves mo e tha 100 millio U.S. legal e tities, 75 millio key people, 33 millio b a ds, a d 31 millio locatio s by co ti uously matchi g a d ef eshi g data ac oss billio s of gove me t fili gs, state egist ies, fede al eco ds, sa ctio s watchlists, a d be eficial ow e ship submissio s. Whe a busi ess’s status cha ges ( ew ow e ship, suspe ded lice se, o sa ctio s exposu e), the c ede tial eflects it, elimi ati g the timestamp p oblem that has defi ed KYB fo decades.
“T ust sta ts with bette busi ess ide tity. The mo e digital a d AI-d ive the eco omy becomes, the mo e impo ta t it is to g ou d decisio s i a eliable u de sta di g of which busi esses a e eal, how they a e co ected, a d who ca act fo them. By combi i g E igma’s busi ess ide tity a d KYB capabilities with P oof’s autho izatio i f ast uctu e, we ca give the ma ket a much st o ge fou datio fo those decisio s.”
Busi ess Ce tificates a e ot just p ese ted. They a e used to sig . Bou d to a wi e, a ve do co t act, a ACH cha ge equest, a p ess elease, o a AI age t i st uctio , the sig atu e ca ies ve ified ide tity i to whateve the busi ess puts i to the wo ld. Eve y act becomes t aceable back to a eal, ve ified busi ess a d a eal, autho ized pe so o system.
Busi ess ide tity f aud takes ma y fo ms. Busi ess Ce tificates add ess each of them:
- Payme t f aud a d wi e f aud: A Busi ess Ce tificate bou d to a wi e i st uctio co fi ms the busi ess is i good sta di g, a d the eceivi g accou t legitimately belo gs to the amed ve do at the time of the t a sactio .
- Ve do a d supplie f aud: ACH cha ges a d accou t update equests ca be sig ed with a Busi ess Ce tificate, p eve ti g f audste s f om edi ecti g payme ts by impe so ati g a ve do .
- Busi ess impe so atio : Sig ed p ess eleases, accou t stateme ts, a d ve do co t acts ca y c yptog aphic p oof that they o igi ated f om the ve ified busi ess. Busi ess Ce tificates educe the gap that allows f audste s to publish co te t u de stole lette heads.
Deepfakes a d sy thetic co te t have moved f om ovelty to a liability fo b a ds. Legal, commu icatio s, a d i vesto elatio s teams eed to p ove, c yptog aphically, that co te t i a compa y’s ame came f om the compa y.
Busi ess Ce tificate ca be used fo a p ess elease, executive stateme t, p oduct image, i voice o qua te ly disclosu e. The ce tificate t avels with the file so a y ecipie t ca ve ify it o igi ated f om the ve ified busi ess, was sig ed by a autho ized pe so , a d has ot bee alte ed.
U like static co te t-sig i g ce tificates o the ma ket today, the ide tity behi d them is co ti uously ef eshed a d bou d to a specific autho ized i dividual, so the c ede tial eflects cha ges i ea eal time.
The pa t e ship is desig ed to add ess ot just today’s f aud th eat, but tomo ow’s: the apid ise of AI age ts acti g auto omously o behalf of busi esses i comme cial a d fi a cial wo kflows.
KYB a d K ow You Age t (KYA) f amewo ks solve disti ct t ust p oblems that must wo k togethe . KYA ve ifies that a age t is autho ized a d acti g withi scope. KYB ve ifies the busi ess e tities the age t i te acts with o ep ese ts. Faili g eithe laye c eates disti ct a d compou di g f aud isk. A autho ized age t t a sacti g with a u ve ified busi ess, o a u autho ized age t t a sacti g o behalf of a legitimate o e, each ep ese t se ious exposu es that eithe f amewo k alo e ca p eve t. This pa t e ship di ectly add esses both laye s.
P oof ece tly lau ched x401, a ope , issue – eut al p otocol that lets a y website ve ify the ide tity a d autho izatio behi d AI age ts. Busi ess Ce tificates, powe ed by E igma’s co ti uously mai tai ed KYB data, p ovide the busi ess ide tity laye that x401 ca ca y i to a y age tic t a sactio . Togethe , they give o ga izatio s a complete t ust stack: ve ified age t autho izatio , ve ified busi ess ide tity, a d a c yptog aphically sig ed eco d of eve y actio .
“AI is maki g actio s a d co te t effo tless to ge e ate. T ust will come f om k owi g who sta ds behi d them. Busi ess Ce tificates give eve y i stitutio a way to co fi m ot just that a busi ess passed a check mo ths ago, but that the ight people a e autho ized to act fo it ight ow—whethe that’s a pe so i itiati g a wi e o a AI age t executi g a co t act.”
Busi ess Ce tificates a e available ow. O ga izatio s i te ested i issui g, eceivi g, o i teg ati g Busi ess Ce tificates ca co tact P oof at p oof.com/ve ified-busi esses.
P oof is the ide tity autho izatio compa y that ve ifies people a d o ga izatio s, issues high-assu a ce c yptog aphic c ede tials, a d c eates tampe -evide t evide ce of what they autho ize. P oof has secu ed mo e tha $640 billio i t a sactio s fo 10,000 o ga izatio s, i cludi g 16 of the Fo tu e 100. Lea mo e at p oof.com.
E igma is the leadi g busi ess ide tity data platfo m, esolvi g mo e tha 100 millio U.S. legal e tities, 75 millio key people, 33 millio b a ds, a d 31 millio locatio s. E igma’s platfo m powe s KYB, payme t isk, t a sactio sc ee i g, a d o boa di g fo leadi g fi a cial i stitutio s, payme ts compa ies, a d fi techs, i cludi g Ramp a d half of the top 10 U.S. ba ks. Lea mo e at e igma.com.
