Proof-of-Account-Ownership (PAO)
User Journey
Alice is interested in participating in a token sale restricted to accredited investors. With zkMe's zkTLS capability, she proves her accredited status based on income thresholds, without sharing any documents or financial details. After a single check, she receives a Proof-of-Accredited-Investor credential as a Soulbound Token (SBT) backed by a zero-knowledge proof. She can now seamlessly access investment opportunities across platforms, while keeping her sensitive data completely private.
See It in Action
Why Verify Accounts?
Proof-of-Account-Ownership serves as a critical component in Anti-Money Laundering (AML) and risk management frameworks. Financial institutions and DeFi platforms must verify that funds originate from legitimate sources and that users aren't utilizing anonymous accounts for illicit activities.
Why zkMe PAO?
Traditional account verification methods require users to submit bank statements or provide full API access to their financial data, creating significant privacy risks and potential attack vectors. zkMe's zkAML-integrated account verification transforms this process by enabling platforms to confirm account ownership legitimacy and financial behavior patterns while ensuring that sensitive transaction histories, account numbers, and balances remain completely private. This approach meets regulatory requirements for fund source verification while upholding the privacy principles essential to Web3.
zkTLS for Maximum Security: Our proprietary zkTLS technology creates a secure tunnel between users and their financial institutions, ensuring that even zkMe cannot access raw financial data or login credentials. This provides a level of security and trust unmatched by traditional screen scraping or API-based solutions.
Comprehensive Financial Assessment: Unlike simple balance checks, our system analyzes multiple financial dimensions—account longevity, stability patterns, asset diversity—to create a holistic yet private financial profile for accurate underwriting.
Seamless Regulatory Integration: The protocol is designed to work alongside zkAML checks, providing platforms with a complete compliance solution that verifies both account legitimacy and user identity while preserving privacy.
Cross-Border Compatibility: Our system supports financial institutions globally, adapting to different banking systems, currencies, and regulatory environments while maintaining consistent privacy guarantees.
How It Works
The Proof-of-Account-Ownership procedure uses zkTLS to create a secure, privacy-preserving bridge between traditional financial accounts and blockchain-based verification.
Account Verification & Underwriting Flow:
Secure Financial Institution Connection
QR Code Generation: The zkMe widget generates a unique QR code for financial account verification
Mobile Redirect: Users scan the code with their mobile device, redirecting to a zkTLS interface
Secure Authentication: Users log in directly to their financial institution through the secure tunnel
Data Authorization: Users explicitly authorize what financial data can be verified
Private Data Extraction & Analysis
Account Ownership Proof: System cryptographically confirms the user controls the account
Financial Metric Calculation: Key underwriting metrics are extracted (account age, average balance, transaction patterns)
AML Compliance Screening: Account details are screened against sanctions and watchlists through zkAML integration
Data Minimization: Raw transaction data and account numbers are immediately discarded after verification
Zero-Knowledge Proof Generation
Commitment Phase: The user's device generates a cryptographic commitment encoding their financial standing
Challenge Phase: The verifier sends a random challenge to ensure proof validity
Response Generation: The user's device processes the challenge with their financial data
Verification: The platform verifies the proof against underwriting criteria without accessing raw financial data
Credential Issuance & Underwriting
SBT Minting: A Proof-of-Account-Ownership Soulbound Token is issued to the user's wallet
Tiered Access: The credential contains ZKPs of specific financial thresholds (e.g., "assets > $50,000")
Cross-Platform Reusability: The credential can be used across multiple DeFi protocols and services
Key Benefits
Privacy-Preserving Underwriting: Financial platforms can assess user creditworthiness and financial standing without accessing sensitive bank statements, account numbers, or transaction histories
Regulatory Compliance: Meets AML/KYC requirements for source of funds verification while minimizing data exposure and liability
Reduced Counterparty Risk: Protocols can make informed lending decisions based on verified real-world financial data without over-collateralization
User-Controlled Financial Identity: Users maintain a portable, reusable proof of their financial standing that they control and can selectively disclose
Fraud Prevention: zkTLS prevents account spoofing and ensures verification comes directly from legitimate financial institutions
Global Financial Inclusion: Enables users worldwide to leverage their traditional financial history in Web3 environments
Use Cases to Benefit
Undercollateralized Lending. DeFi lending protocols can offer loans with reduced collateral requirements based on verified real-world financial standing, expanding access to capital while managing risk through private financial verification.
Institutional-Grade DeFi Access. Investment funds and sophisticated traders can prove their financial capacity to access advanced DeFi products, OTC desks, and private pools without revealing their total assets or trading strategies.
Premium Service Tiering. CeFi and DeFi platforms can create tiered service levels based on verified financial standing, offering lower fees, higher limits, or exclusive products to qualified users while maintaining their privacy.
Regulatory Compliance Verification. Financial institutions moving into crypto can satisfy regulators about their clients' source of wealth through cryptographically verified proofs without building extensive traditional compliance infrastructure.
Cross-Border Financial Services. Remittance services and international platforms can verify users' financial stability and account ownership across jurisdictions, facilitating compliant cross-border services with reduced fraud risk.
DAO Treasury Management. Decentralized Autonomous Organizations can ensure that treasury managers and key decision-makers meet specific financial responsibility thresholds without doxxing their personal finances.
Pricing & Integration
Drop us a line at [email protected] and let’s kick things off!
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