Arbitra - Independent IDV Testing & Benchmarking

Executive Summary: Building a great IDV RFP shouldn't be about who has the slickest demo—it should be about measurable fraud resilience, uptime, configurability, and long-term cost of ownership.

20+ Vendors Benchmarked

70+ Evaluation Criteria

The Problem with Most IDV RFPs

Most organizations approach IDV vendor selection like they're buying enterprise software from 2010. They focus on feature checklists, demo presentations, and price per transaction without considering the nuanced performance characteristics that actually matter in production.

Reality Check: Companies end up with vendors that look great in controlled demos but fail when faced with real-world fraud attacks, diverse user populations, or unexpected traffic spikes.

Core RFP Dimensions That Actually Matter

Essential RFP Evaluation Criteria

Company History & Financials - Stability and longevity matter in a consolidating market

Product Depth (Liveness, OCR, Matching) - Technical capabilities that work under pressure

Performance Benchmarks - Real-world accuracy and speed metrics, not marketing claims

Security Certifications - Compliance and data protection standards that actually matter

User Experience & Support - Implementation quality and ongoing relationship management

2025 Evaluation Framework

Here's how leading organizations are structuring their IDV vendor evaluations this year:

RFP Evaluation Metrics

Company History & Financials8/10

Product Depth9/10

Performance Benchmarks7/10

Security Certifications9/10

User Experience & Support6/10

🏢 Company Fundamentals (20%)

Funding & Runway: Can they survive market downturns?
Customer Retention: Are existing customers actually happy?
Leadership Stability: Frequent C-suite changes are red flags
Regulatory History: Any major violations or compliance issues?

🔬 Product Depth (25%)

Liveness Detection: Can they stop deepfakes and presentation attacks?
OCR Accuracy: How well do they handle edge cases and poor quality docs?
Biometric Matching: False positive/negative rates in production environments
API Flexibility: Can you tune and configure for your specific use case?

📊 Performance Benchmarks (25%)

Third-party Testing: NIST FRVT, iBeta certifications, not just claims
Demographic Analysis: Performance across age, gender, ethnicity
Uptime & Latency: What happens when their systems go down?
Fraud Effectiveness: Real-world catch rates against known attack vectors

🔒 Security & Compliance (15%)

SOC 2 Type II: Non-negotiable for enterprise deployments
ISO 27001: Information security management standards
Data Residency: Can they meet your geographic requirements?
Penetration Testing: How often do they test their own security?

Top RFP Performers: 2025 Analysis

Vendor	Key Strengths	Differentiators	Overall Score
Incode	Full-stack capabilities, L2 passive liveness, fast API response	Best-in-class technical depth and innovation	9.2/10
Veriff	Strong global coverage, facial biometrics leader, enterprise scale	Market maturity and proven scale	8.8/10
Jumio	Enterprise scale, KYB depth, comprehensive compliance tooling	Regulatory expertise and enterprise focus	8.5/10

Critical Red Flags to Watch For

⚠️ Warning Signs

Benchmark Reluctance: If they won't share performance metrics, there's usually a reason
Demo-Only Evaluations: Insist on testing with your actual use cases and data
Pricing Opacity: Hidden fees for API calls, storage, or premium features
No Redundancy: Vendors with no disaster recovery or failover plans
Aggressive Sales: Pressure to sign quickly often indicates desperation

Pro Tips from the Trenches

💡 Always Request

• iBeta certificates, not just claims
• FTE and latency data by platform
• Adversarial test scenarios
• Edge case performance data

🎯 Test Scenarios

• Spoofed selfies and deepfakes
• Identical twins verification
• Low light conditions
• Damaged or worn documents

The Bottom Line

A well-structured IDV RFP process takes 3-6 months but can save you years of vendor relationship pain and millions in fraud losses. Focus on measurable performance criteria, demand transparency, and don't let flashy demos distract from the fundamentals.

Remember:

You're not just buying software—you're choosing a partner who will help protect your business from increasingly sophisticated fraud attacks. In 2025, that choice matters more than ever.

Sources

• iBeta Labs Presentation Attack Detection Testing

• Crunchbase Funding and Company Data

• NIST Face Recognition Vendor Test (FRVT)

• Arbitra IDV Benchmarks 2024-2025

• Industry interviews with 50+ compliance and fraud teams

How to Build a Killer IDV RFP: 2025 Edition