SmileID built a tool for Africa.
We built the identity layer for all of humanity.
8 billion people on earth. Every one of them deserves to be verified — not just the ones a government already knows about. This is how we do it.
This is the question that separates serious founders from product builders. We are not in beta. We are not soft-launching. We made a deliberate, strategic decision to hold back public verification — and here is exactly why.
Here is exactly where CheckWorldID stands today and what the partnership with Mastercard unlocks.
CheckWorldID is a 9-layer identity intelligence platform that verifies who a person truly is — from their face to their village to their financial history — and issues them a universal World ID Certificate accepted globally. It works for everyone: the banker in London, the farmer in Nigeria, the refugee in Germany, the indigenous leader in Brazil.
These are not edge cases. These are billions of real human beings that SmileID, Jumio, Onfido, and every other KYC platform cannot serve. CheckWorldID was built specifically for them.
SmileID is a strong African KYC tool. It verifies your face and your ID card — two layers. CheckWorldID verifies 9 layers simultaneously across 195 countries. These are not the same product. They are not even the same category.
| Capability | CheckWorldID | SmileID |
|---|---|---|
| Facial Biometrics + Liveness | ✓ Yes | ✓ Yes |
| Document Verification | ✓ 195 countries | ~ 30 countries |
| AML / Sanctions Screening | ✓ Full | ✓ Full |
| Grassroots / Village Verification | ✓ Exclusive Only us | ✗ Impossible |
| Verify People With Zero Govt Records | ✓ Core capability | ✗ Cannot do this |
| Financial Footprint Layer | ✓ Full layer | ✗ Not available |
| Network Graph — Associate Mapping | ✓ Full module | ✗ Not available |
| Cross-Border Immigration Records | ✓ 195 countries | ✗ Not available |
| Tax & Legal Records Layer | ✓ Full layer | ✗ Not available |
| Diaspora Cross-Border Trace | ✓ Exclusive Only us | ✗ Not available |
| World ID Certificate (owned by individual) | ✓ Issued permanently | ✗ No individual credential |
| Investigator Intelligence Portal | ✓ 11 modules | ✗ Does not exist |
| Refugee & Displaced Persons | ✓ Core use case | ✗ Not designed for this |
| Indigenous & Tribal Communities | ✓ Core use case | ✗ Not designed for this |
| Geographic Scope | ✓ 195 countries | ~ Africa focused |
| Total Addressable Population | 8 billion humans | ~500M African users |