• Solo has launched a pilot allowing banks and fintechs to reuse customer verification completed by partner institutions
• The initiative was developed in coordination with the Treasury Department, OCC and FDIC
• The framework aims to reduce duplicated KYC checks and improve customer onboarding
• Solo independently audits verification work before issuing reusable compliance certificates
• The model could reduce regulatory risk by providing standardized, auditable verification records
• Former CFPB Acting Director Mick Mulvaney has advised the company since October 2025



A new pilot program designed to streamline customer verification across bank-fintech partnerships could reshape how financial institutions satisfy know-your-customer (KYC) requirements while reducing duplicated compliance efforts.

The initiative has been developed by consumer reporting agency Solo in coordination with the U.S. Treasury Department, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).

The program introduces a standardized framework that allows banks and fintech companies to reuse customer verification work already completed by another participating institution, provided it meets an agreed compliance standard.

The approach addresses a long-standing challenge within the banking industry, where customers are frequently required to undergo the same identity verification processes multiple times despite having already been vetted elsewhere.

The repeated checks can slow onboarding, increase operational costs and create friction for both financial institutions and consumers.

Solo founder and Chief Executive Officer Georgina Merhom said the industry has lacked a common mechanism for evaluating and relying on verification work carried out by partner organizations.

“Every day, banks and fintechs rely on each other's work, but there has never been a consistent way to represent that work, audit it, or evaluate it across institutions,” Merhom said.

“Consumers repeatedly start from zero – not because verification hasn't already been performed, but because there has never been a common trust framework.”

The company believes the model could also help banks reduce regulatory risk. Banking regulators have, on several occasions, raised concerns that customer due diligence carried out by fintech partners has not always met the standards required under the Bank Secrecy Act and broader KYC obligations.

By introducing an independently audited certification process, Solo hopes participating institutions will gain greater confidence when relying on another organization's verification procedures.

Merhom compared the concept to airport trusted traveler programs, where passengers who have already completed enhanced screening benefit from faster processing.

She also likened the approach to kidney donation matching, where existing compatibility assessments can be reused rather than repeated.

Under the framework, each participating bank submits its own Customer Identification Program policy together with the verification steps it requires.

Solo then identifies whether another regulated institution has already completed verification on the same customer to an equivalent or higher standard.

“A bank submits its own CIP policy and required verification steps to the network,” Merhom explained.

“The network identifies regulated institutions that have already completed equivalent or stronger verification on the same customer. If a match exists, the requesting bank receives a network-audited record of that work.”

To support the process, Solo has introduced reusable KYC and know-your-business certificates.

Participating institutions must document the verification steps they performed before Solo independently audits the process and validates the institution's attestations.

Once verified, the company issues a reusable certificate that partner organizations can rely upon when assessing the same customer.

“You don't have to trust another institution's judgment,” Merhom said. “We map their work against your policy, filter out anything that doesn't qualify, independently audit that what they attest to doing is what they actually did, and make sure the supporting artifacts are available so you can demonstrate compliance during an examination.”

The latest initiative builds on Solo's previous efforts to modernize financial data sharing.

Last year, the company introduced a bank-to-bank customer data sharing service modeled on the Zelle payments network, enabling institutions to exchange customer information directly without relying on third-party data aggregators.

Solo's broader objective is to reduce customer attrition caused by repetitive verification while giving banks a standardized, regulator-friendly framework for sharing compliance work across the financial ecosystem.

The company has also attracted support from former Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Acting Director Mick Mulvaney, who has served as an adviser since October 2025, adding further regulatory experience to its growing network as it seeks wider industry adoption.