Banks can now check whether the customer on a video call is a real human

World, co-founded by Sam Altman, launched a package for banks and financial institutions on October 18, 2026, at the Money20/20 conference in Las Vegas. It is the company's first product aimed at a specific industry. Co-founder Alex Blania presented the package.

The idea is to make it harder to cheat with deepfakes. A deepfake is a fake video or audio clip that looks genuine, and in which a fraudster can, for example, pose as a boss.

What does the package include?

The package combines three existing parts: the World ID app, where users store so-called Proofs (digital proofs of who they are), World ID for Zoom and World ID for Agents. The last one makes it possible to pass your proofs on to AI agents so others can verify them.

World ID for Zoom has been in limited testing since April 2026 and is now generally available, The Block reports.

How it works in Zoom

Participants sign up once with a World ID Orb, a device that scans the iris. According to Startup Fortune, the tool compares data from the sign-up with a fresh selfie and live video. If there is a match, a "Verified Human" badge appears next to the participant's video. You can also request verification in the middle of a call.

Zoom and Tools for Humanity, which is behind World ID, said in April that there is also a waiting room where participants must be verified before they are let in. The design is meant to ensure that no data is shared between the platforms. Zoom is aiming the solution at finance, health care and top management, among others, including for approving payments.

Background: rising fraud

Deloitte expects AI-based fraud losses in the US to rise from $12.3 billion in 2023 to $40 billion in 2027. In the Arup case from January 2024, an employee approved transfers of $25.6 million during a deepfake video call in which fraudsters posed as executives. According to Startup Fortune, the money had not been recovered by the beginning of 2025.

What is unclear?

No bank has been named as a current user, and the price has not been disclosed. OpenExchange, Bain Capital, VanEck Funds and Outtake are design partners in the testing phase, which is not the same as confirmed rollout.

User figures come from the companies themselves. According to them, more than 18 million people have a Proof of Human in more than 160 countries, and more than 475 million identity proofs have been issued across partner platforms. The figures have not been independently verified.