Affinidi has introduced a pilot programme that aims to reduce the time taken for cross-border employment verification from weeks to minutes. The initiative focuses on improving interoperability across regions and is designed to support trade, asset movement and talent flow between markets. Its first use case targets the Singapore–India talent corridor, where labour mobility and hiring activity continue to grow.
The company worked with the Infocomm Media Development Authority and several background screening providers to create a reusable credential ecosystem. These providers currently depend on manual checks, which take between five and fifteen days on average. This process not only slows recruitment but also increases costs and leaves employers vulnerable to fraud. The issue is expected to intensify, given Gartner’s projection that one in four hiring profiles will be fraudulent by 2028. Affinidi’s pilot replaces manual checks with cryptographically signed digital credentials stored in digital wallets.
Candidates can reuse their verified credentials with different employers, removing the need to repeatedly submit the same documents. Verification occurs almost instantly, creating what Affinidi describes as a reusable professional passport that allows individuals to retain full control of their data.
Reducing risk and improving efficiency
The solution is built on the World Wide Web Consortium’s Verifiable Credentials and Decentralised Identifiers standards. This ensures that background checks are tamper-evident, secure and cryptographically verifiable. The architecture is designed to be interoperable, which lowers integration costs and supports scalability as adoption grows across different sectors. Hiring-related operational expenses are also reduced because screening companies spend less time on manual verification.
Affinidi says it is already collaborating with screening firms including Avvanz, eeCheck and Risk Management Intelligence to modernise employment verification. These firms are shifting from one-off screening transactions to recurring verification services. The company expects this move to strengthen trust frameworks across borders and support businesses that regularly hire international talent.
Glenn Gore, CEO of Affinidi, said the pilot creates the foundation for a more efficient and trustworthy digital economy. “We’re not just solving hiring inefficiencies, we’re creating the foundation for a trust-based digital economy,” he said. “What starts with employment verification between India and Singapore demonstrates how the same can be applied to transform access to healthcare, financial services, education, and beyond. When individuals own and control their data, entire economies operate more efficiently and with trust.”
Laying groundwork for wider cross-border use
Affinidi positions the pilot as a key building block for future cross-border verification models, extending beyond recruitment. With verified credentials that can be reused securely, the company believes individuals, businesses and partner organisations will transact more seamlessly on a global scale.
Chek-Tchung Foo, Executive Director of Public Policy at GFTN, said the adoption of international standards could play a significant role in improving access to qualified talent. “Just as the adoption of digital technologies and international standards have dramatically transformed the financial sector and enhanced interoperability, the use of digital verifiable credentials has the ability to further engender trust and ensure that the best talent pools can be identified and tapped,” he said. “This will also unlock new pathways towards the seamless flow of talent and skills across borders, which will power us towards the long-term objective of accelerating and modernising economies.”
