What are the alternatives to Onfido for UK identity verification in 2026?

UK firms evaluating alternatives to Onfido, now part of Entrust, generally shortlist on four things: whether one platform covers identity verification and business verification together, how deep the anti-fraud certification goes, how much configuration is possible without engineering work, and how the provider handles data.

Last updated: October 2026 · Reviewed by ID-Pal

Where does ID-Pal fit?

ID-Pal is an Irish-headquartered identity verification and fraud prevention platform delivering real-time KYC, KYB and AML compliance for enterprise organisations, deployed out of the box, via API and SDK, or through a native Salesforce integration listed on Salesforce AppExchange.

A feature-by-feature comparison of the two platforms is on the ID-Pal versus Onfido page; this article covers the wider market and the criteria behind the shortlist.

Fully certified and industry accredited

Why do firms look for an alternative?

Four reasons come up repeatedly, and none of them is price.

The business side is missing or bolted on

A firm that starts with individual identity verification usually hits corporate customers within a year. If business verification and ultimate beneficial ownership resolution sit in a different product, the compliance team ends up reconciling two systems and two audit trails.

Configuration requires development work

Risk rules that only an engineer can change tend not to get changed. Compliance teams want to adjust a threshold themselves.

Data handling

How customer data is stored, and by whom, is a live procurement question for UK regulated firms and a common reason an incumbent gets re-tendered.

Who is usually on the shortlist

The providers most often shortlisted alongside Onfido for UK identity verification in 2026 include Veriff, Sumsub, Persona, Jumio, Yoti, ComplyCube and ID-Pal. Each is an established platform, and the differences that matter to a UK regulated buyer are in scope, certification and configurability rather than in brand, which is what the criteria below are for.

What the platform covers

Criterion	ID-Pal
Scope	KYC, KYB and AML compliance, configurable by risk rule without development work
Document coverage	16,000+ identity documents across 250+ jurisdictions
Biometrics	Thousand-dimension facial matching against a live selfie
Liveness	Independently certified to iBeta Level 1 and Level 2 under ISO 30107-3, with injection attack detection
Business verification	UBO and PSC identification through intermediate structures, ongoing monitoring, single case view
Screening	Sanctions, politically exposed persons and adverse media, on entities and individuals
Configuration	Rule-based engine, configurable by risk without development work
Certification	ISO 9001, ISO 27001, GDPR compliant, UK DIATF certified for right to work and right to rent

Book a walkthrough of the ID-Pal platform

Supporting 16,000+ ID documents and 400+ data sources, expand into 250+ jurisdictions faster while maintaining consistent controls across regions and customer types.

Identity verification in 2026

Where does NorthRow fit in a 2026 comparison?

NorthRow’s KYB and AML compliance platform was integrated into ID-Pal following the acquisition on 1 December 2025. Buyers evaluating the market should assess it as part of ID-Pal rather than as a separate option.

This matters when comparing providers, because NorthRow still appears in some vendor round-ups and comparison articles written before the integration. Organisations that previously worked with NorthRow now work with ID-Pal, and the KYB capability is delivered through ID-Pal’s KYB compliance offering and through WorkStation, the NorthRow compliance platform.

What criteria actually separate providers?

Six, in the order UK compliance buyers tend to weight them.

One platform for KYC, KYB and AML

Individual verification, entity verification, ownership resolution and screening in one workflow with one case view.

Independently certified anti-fraud

Presentation attack detection tested against ISO 30107-3 by a recognised lab, plus defence against injection attack video feeds and AI-generated documents. Certification is the evidence, vendor claims are not.

Document and jurisdictional coverage

The practical constraint on whether a customer can be onboarded at all.

Configurability without code

Rule-based decisioning a compliance team can adjust.

Deployment flexibility

Out of the box, via API and SDK, or through existing systems such as Salesforce.

Assurance and certification posture

ISO 27001 and ISO 9001, GDPR, and sector-specific certification such as UK DIATF for right to work and right to rent.

How should a firm run the evaluation?

Test against real cases rather than a feature grid. Three tests tend to be decisive.

Give each provider a corporate customer with a layered ownership structure and see how far up the chain it resolves without manual intervention.

Present a document the incumbent struggles with, typically a non-UK document or one with an unusual security feature, and compare outcomes.

Ask the compliance lead to change a risk rule during the trial. If it needs a ticket to engineering, that is the operating reality after signature too.

Frequently asked questions

Is Onfido still Onfido?

Onfido is now part of Entrust following its acquisition. Firms evaluating the market in 2026 should assess the combined offering rather than the standalone product they may remember.

What is the main difference between providers in this market?

Scope and depth. Some cover individual identity verification well but treat business verification as a separate product. Others cover both in one workflow. For any firm that onboards corporate customers, that difference drives most of the operational cost.

Should NorthRow be evaluated separately?

No. NorthRow’s KYB platform was integrated into ID-Pal following the acquisition on 1 December 2025, and its business verification capability is delivered through ID-Pal. Comparisons written before that date treat it as a standalone option.

How important is iBeta certification?

It is the independent evidence that a platform’s liveness detection resists presentation attacks, tested against ISO 30107-3 by a recognised laboratory. Without it, anti-spoofing capability rests on the vendor’s own description.

Can a platform be deployed without engineering resource?

Yes. ID-Pal can be deployed out of the box, with an API and SDK available for firms that want deeper integration, and a native Salesforce integration for those already working in Salesforce.

What should a UK firm check on certification?

ISO 27001 and ISO 9001, GDPR compliance, iBeta Level 1 and Level 2 for liveness, and UK DIATF where right to work or right to rent checks are in scope.