Vouchsafe vs GBG in-depth tool comparison
Chloe Coleman
Vouchsafe and GBG are both multi-product platforms trusted by compliance teams to verify customers and prevent fraud. There is overlap in how both platforms do that, but many features differ.
How is Vouchsafe different?
1. Works out of the box for UK financial services
Vouchsafe is built specifically for financial services use cases; account opening, credit applications and other KYC/AML situations.
It provides compliant, battle-tested templates that are made to meet FCA and JMLSG requirements, so you can get set up and start seeing value without having to design a completely custom workflow or going through lengthy onboarding.
2. We prioritise digital ID acceptance
Many potential customers already have recognised digital IDs they know and understand, including eVisas, mobile driving licences and EU digital wallets.
Vouchsafe asks for these first, greatly speeding up onboarding and protecting you against fake documents.
3. We can verify more customers
Around 1 in 5 UK adults struggle to prove their identity by traditional means. They might have recently moved, not have built up a credit file yet or may not have a passport or driving licence to provide.
Vouchsafe brings support for Vouching. Users can get verified by providing a trusted referee, which works like a guarantor.
It’s a compliant, secure approach that allows you to onboard a customer who would normally be shut out.
This makes us a particularly good fit for ethical lenders; credit unions, building societies and CDFIs.
4. We have a free trial and simple, transparent pricing
You can sign up to Vouchsafe and get a free 14 day trial of all functionality with no usage limits.
After that, the platform is simply £399/month, with all features included. There are no add-ons, integration or setup fees. No need to talk to a salesperson.
Comparing Vouchsafe and GBG
Identity verification
Vouchsafe’s global Identity verification starts by asking the customer for a digital ID from a provider you accept.
For example, a customer here in the UK will be asked if they have an eVisa share code or mobile driving licence, while a customer in Finland will be asked to share their Finnish BankID.
If not, the customer can scan a popular photo ID, like a passport, driving licence or proof of age card.
They will also complete a biometric video selfie to check they’re a real person and not a known fraudster.
Those without either can provide the details of a referee who will go through the steps for them.
GBG also provides an extensive set of tools for identity verification, including a wide range of documents from all around the world. GBG gives teams a powerful toolkit they configure and assemble themselves, whereas Vouchsafe starts with opinionated, regulator-aligned defaults that are designed to work out of the box.
Address verification
Vouchsafe also provides compliant Address verification.
It starts by looking for verified address information on the digital ID, if the user provided one.
If not, we will check with our credit bureau data sources for the most recent address matching the customer’s identity.
Users without a digital ID or a UK data trail can provide one or more letters from a wide range of acceptable ones; utility bills, bank, credit card and mortgage statements, letters from government agencies and so on.
Vouchsafe will automatically check the document has not been tampered with, is addressed to the right person and is recent enough for you to accept.
GBG provides address verification via its standalone Loqate product. This is a powerful address and location tool, but it is licensed separately and typically needs to be procured, configured and priced alongside GBG’s other services.
eKYC and background checks
Vouchsafe lets you conduct quick background checks on customers using the Smart lookup product.
Provide the customer’s name, date of birth, address and contact details and Vouchsafe can check it against anti-money laundering lists, credit reference agency data and even the user’s online profiles.
Based on the results, you can determine if the user can be onboarded there and then and what other evidence, if any, is needed from them.
GBG offers Multi bureau search, which aggregates checks across the major credit bureaus for identity and address data. It relies purely on credit bureau data, so you will see lower success rates among younger people and segments more likely to have thin credit files.
Ongoing monitoring, AML and fraud screening
Vouchsafe combines traditional ongoing monitoring with Radar, our network-based fraud detection layer.
Like most KYC platforms, Vouchsafe re-checks verified customers daily against global anti-money laundering lists, including sanctions, watchlists, disbarred company directors and politically exposed people. You are alerted by email and webhook if a customer is added to a new list.
What makes Vouchsafe different is what happens beyond lists.
Radar looks for suspicious patterns of behaviour across the Vouchsafe network itself, beyond a single customer journey. This allows us to detect fake, stolen and high-risk identities that may not appear on any watchlist yet.
Signals from one organisation are anonymised and fed back into the network, so the same identity details, devices or behavioural patterns cannot simply be reused elsewhere. This lets us detect fraud on your behalf earlier, even when the data looks fine in isolation.
This network-level intelligence is built in by default. Unlike GBG’s Identity score, Radar reflects how identities behave across the wider network, rather than just how they score in isolation at a single point in time.
Integration
Vouchsafe provides no-code integrations with over 8000 popular business tools and other apps via Zapier.
You can connect Vouchsafe to messaging tools like Slack and Teams, as well as CRMs like Pipedrive, Salesforce, Zendesk and HubSpot.
You can also build a custom integration using our public API and SDKs for popular languages including Node.js and PHP.
Use of the API and integrations are included with the standard pricing.
GBG offers no-code integrations through its partner programme, and supported integrations differ across products.
Support
Both Vouchsafe and GBG provide extensive integration, onboarding and ongoing support to businesses.
However, only Vouchsafe provides support directly to end users via live chat and email. We help your users get verified, so it doesn’t end up causing extra manual work for your own team.
Security and compliance
Like how financial institutions are regulated by the FCA, Vouchsafe and GBG are both regulated by the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA), via their membership of the UK digital identity and attributes trust framework.
This means both companies are allowed to verify digital IDs from the GOV.UK wallet app and can be used for right-to-work, right-to-rent and DBS checks.
Vouchsafe’s compliant templates and onboarding support mean that usage is guaranteed to meet regulatory and security requirements.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Vouchsafe cost?
Vouchsafe costs £399/month for all features, with no setup or integration fees.
For occasional simple checks, you can use the pay as you go plan, paying just 99p per piece of evidence verified.
How much does GBG cost?
GBG’s pricing is custom, and is based on industry, use case and expected volume of checks. Expect an aggressive negotiation!
Does Vouchsafe or GBG offer a free trial?
Vouchsafe offers a free 14 day trial when you sign up.
GBG instead allows you to book a demo from their website.
How long does it take to implement Vouchsafe?
Because we offer a stand-alone dashboard and compliant templates, Vouchsafe can be used for basic checks within minutes.
For more complex use cases, we offer free onboarding support to design your verification flows and connecting it to your other tools, which we find can normally be completed in a week or two.
What are some other alternatives for KYC/AML?
There are many tools that can be used for KYC/AML, including Persona, Entrust, Yoti and Stripe.
We recommend picking a tool that has strong support and certifications in your target geographies, as well as transparent pricing and a forward-thinking approach to fraud prevention; so you can stay ahead as identity verification evolves with the rise of digital ID.
Vouchsafe is the KYC/AML platform that lets you accept the digital ID customers already have, so you can benefit from higher conversion rates and better fraud protection. Book a chat and quit scanning documents today.
