World launches World ID suite for banks, makes Zoom 'Human Badge' generally available

World, the project formerly known as Worldcoin, has launched a bundle of identity tools aimed at banks and financial firms. Co-founder Alex Blania unveiled "World ID for banking and finance" on stage at the Money20/20 fintech conference in Las Vegas on Oct. 18 local time, and World said in a blog post the same day that the technology is now available. The Block reported that it is World's first industry-specific offering.

The initial design partners are Bain Capital, OpenExchange, Outtake, Pantera Capital and VanEck Funds. The bundle includes the World ID app, World ID for Agents (AgentKit) for artificial intelligence (AI) agents, and World ID for Zoom. World said more than 18 million people hold a Proof of Human.

Proof of Human for bank transfer approvals

The World ID app is available on the App Store and Google Play in more than 150 countries and offers three types of Proofs. Proof of Human establishes that someone is a real and unique human with a one-time visit to the Orb, World's iris-scanning device. Proof of Presence is a quick liveness check on a phone showing the person is there in the moment. Proof of Attributes confirms specific information from an official government credential, such as nationality or age, revealing only what is requested. World noted that Orbs are also available at the New York Stock Exchange.

World pointed to uses such as a client walking into a branch, transferring a significant sum of money or opening a new account. Institutions can require human-binding approvals for ACH and wire transfers, and apply the same requirement to account recovery to help prevent account takeover. World stressed that firms would not need to collect and store extra personal data such as copies of ID documents. With AgentKit, still in beta, a person can delegate certain Proofs to an AI agent, which can then show it is transacting on behalf of a real human without revealing private information.

Three images must match on a Zoom call

World ID for Zoom, which World tested in a limited rollout with a small group of customers including VanEck Funds after announcing Zoom and Docusign integrations on April 17, is now available to Zoom's enterprise customers globally through the Zoom Marketplace. A Human Badge appears on a participant's tile only when three images match: the Orb image cryptographically signed when the Proof of Human was claimed, a selfie taken in the World ID app, and a frame of the live video feed. World said the integration analyzes video only, not audio or transcripts, and that Zoom does not receive any personal information in the process.

Hosts can set how long a Human Badge stays active, and a waiting-room check before participants enter a meeting is coming soon. Tools for Humanity (TFH), World's developer, has joined Zoom's ISV Exchange Program, allowing Zoom business customers to host Orbs in their offices.

World cited deepfake cases in its announcement. In early 2024, an employee at engineering firm Arup wired about $25.6 million after a video conference in which every other participant was a deepfake. World also cited a Deloitte forecast that AI-enabled fraud losses in the U.S. could reach $40 billion by 2027, up from an estimated $12.3 billion in 2023, and a 2025 Gartner survey in which 62% of cybersecurity leaders said their organization had faced a deepfake attack in the previous year.

No pricing, no named bank customers yet

The announcement did not include pricing or the names of any banks that have adopted the product. None of the five design partners is a commercial bank. World directed interested institutions to contact Tools for Humanity's solutions team by email. On Sept. 17, World said it was beginning to roll out World Money, a financial app with stablecoin payments and WLD deposits, in more than 150 countries.

WLD trades on the Korean won markets of Upbit and Bithumb. As of 12:30 p.m. KST on Oct. 19, it traded at 663 won on Upbit, up 0.6% from the previous close, and at 663 won on Bithumb. At the same time it was at $0.4928 on Binance, down 0.5% over 24 hours. On Binance, WLD fell as low as $0.4565 early on Oct. 19 before returning to the $0.49 range. The kimchi premium (the gap between prices on Korean exchanges and global markets) stood at about 0.9%. Its 52-week high on Upbit was 1,438 won, set on Oct. 21 last year.