How does Cobalt Intelligence's business verification work

Traditional methods of manual verification are time-consuming, prone to error, and can significantly slow down the funding process. Cobalt Intelligence offers a powerful solution: a suite of APIs that provide real-time, primary-source data, streamlining business verification and transforming the way lenders make decisions.

The Challenge of Traditional Business Verification

Alternative business lenders face unique hurdles in verifying businesses:

• Time-Consuming Manual Checks: Manually searching Secretary of State databases can take 3-5 minutes per business, significantly slowing down application processing.
• Outdated Information: Traditional database providers often rely on stored information that might be days, weeks, or even months old, creating serious risk when assessing recently registered businesses.
• Inconsistent Standards: Without a standardized process, verification standards can vary, leading to inconsistent and potentially unreliable results.
• Increased Fraud Risk: Inefficient verification processes increase the risk of funding non-existent or fraudulent businesses.

Cobalt Intelligence: A Modern Solution

Cobalt Intelligence addresses these challenges by providing real-time, primary-source business verification data directly to your underwriting system. By connecting directly to Secretary of State databases across all 50 states and D.C., Cobalt's API delivers up-to-the-minute business verification.

Here’s how Cobalt Intelligence transforms the business verification process:

1. Real-Time Data Retrieval: Access to the Source

• Direct Connection to SOS Databases: Cobalt Intelligence connects directly to Secretary of State databases across all 50 states and the District of Columbia. This ensures access to the most current business information, with the ability to verify businesses registered as recently as an hour ago.
• Primary Source Verification: By accessing data directly from state registries, Cobalt provides verifiable audit trails with timestamps and watermarks. This direct connection is crucial for compliance and due diligence, ensuring the data's reliability. Real-time Data Benefits:
  
  • Accuracy: Gathers current information, reducing the risk of outdated data.
  • Fraud Prevention: Helps identify recently registered or changed business statuses.
  • Efficiency: Automates data collection, saving time and resources.

2. Comprehensive Business Information: A Wealth of Data

• Extensive Data Points: The API retrieves a wide range of corporate data, including officer details, registered agent information, filing dates, and business types. It also provides access to historical changes to business entities and official records.
• Document Retrieval: Cobalt provides actual screenshots from state records as they appear on official sites. These screenshots include timestamps and watermarks for audit trail purposes.
• Key Data Points Include:
  
  • Entity Name and Status: Confirms the legal name and current standing of the business.
  • Filing Date and Business Start Date: Verifies when the business was registered and established.
  • Entity Type Classification: Identifies the type of business entity (e.g., LLC, Corporation).
  • Registered Agent Information: Provides details about the registered agent.
  • Officer and Owner Details: Lists the individuals associated with the business.
  • Historical Filings and Amendments: Offers a history of changes to the business entity.

3. Intelligent Matching Algorithms: Accuracy Redefined

• Confidence Scoring: Cobalt's system includes confidence-level scoring to help users identify and resolve potential business name discrepancies. This is particularly useful when names don't exactly match what was submitted.
• Alternative Results: The system returns alternative business possibilities ranked by confidence level, ensuring that active businesses are prioritized. This helps in cases where the initial search doesn't yield an exact match.
• AI-Enhanced Matching: Cobalt employs AI to assess the likelihood of business name matches, even with variations or incomplete information. Matching Technology Benefits:
  
  • Accuracy: Reduces errors from manual interpretation of business names.
  • Efficiency: Quickly identifies the correct business entity, even with slight variations in the provided information.
  • Fraud Prevention: Flags potential discrepancies that could indicate fraudulent activity.

4. Streamlined Integration and Use: Designed for Efficiency

• API Integration: Cobalt’s API is designed for simple and efficient integration with existing systems. Implementation can typically be completed in less than a week.
• REST API: Cobalt uses REST APIs with clear documentation, making it easier for developers to implement the solutions.
• Flexible Options: Cobalt provides flexible implementation options, including callback URLs for asynchronous processing of longer requests.
• Pricing Structure: Cobalt offers transparent, usage-based pricing with no hidden fees. Pricing models include monthly subscription options, volume-based pricing tiers, and annual discounts. 

Implementation Benefits:

• Ease of Use: Simple API structures and clear documentation reduce integration time.
• Customization: Flexible options allow tailoring the API to specific needs.
• Scalability: Pricing models accommodate both small and large lenders.

5. Additional Verification Services: A Comprehensive Toolkit

• TIN Verification API: This service confirms whether the provided business tax ID numbers match the registered information. It helps users verify business legitimacy and prevent identity theft. TIN verification costs three times the standard lookup credits.
• UCC Filing Data: Cobalt’s API allows access to Uniform Commercial Code (UCC) filings, helping lenders identify existing liens and financial obligations of a business. This provides a deeper insight into a business's financial status.
• Contractor License Verification: This service is designed to validate contractor licenses at the state level, ensuring that businesses are operating with the required credentials. It is particularly useful for lenders in the construction industry.

Real-World Success Stories: Cobalt Intelligence in Action

1West: Streamlining Operations and Reducing Fraud

1West, a leading small business lending marketplace, integrated Cobalt Intelligence’s Secretary of State API directly into their Automated Business Lending Engine (ABLE). Kunal, CEO of 1West, explains, "Cobalt helps us verify the file data that the customer provides on applications. It helps reduce fraud for our lending partners and ensures we have the highest chances of obtaining approvals".

• Key Outcomes:
  
  • Automated Verification: Eliminated manual verification processes, freeing up bandwidth for their processing team.
  • Improved Accuracy: Ensured accurate business start dates, leading to more competitive offers for customers.
  • Fraud Reduction: Verified application data against official state records, significantly reducing fraud risk.

General Merchant Funding: Enhancing Efficiency and Customer Experience

General Merchant Funding, a company with 14+ years of experience in the alternative business finance industry, integrated Cobalt Intelligence to automate their system, increase efficiency, and speed up the process. Craig Clark from General Merchant Funding, notes that Cobalt's integration has transformed their underwriting process.

• Key Outcomes:
  
  • Automated Secretary of State Verification: Automates what was once a manual, state-by-state verification process, saving minutes per application.
  • Real-Time EIN Verification: Ensures they are dealing with a verifiable business from the start, preventing wasted effort on problematic applications.
  • Streamlined Judicial Searches: Seamlessly integrates court case verification, which was previously a lengthy manual process.

Bectran: Enhancing Fraud Prevention

Bectran, a leading credit and accounts receivable management platform, integrated with Cobalt Intelligence to enhance their fraud prevention capabilities. Louis Ifeguni, Bectran CEO, noted that the collaboration equips credit managers with real-time SOS data at the moment of application submission, resulting in tighter fraud security measures and faster credit approvals.

• Key Outcomes:
  
  • Automated Data Retrieval: Automatically pulls SOS data alongside credit applications.
  • Application Scoring: Scores applications based on verification data.
  • Enhanced Audit Trail: Provides screenshots and verification timestamps for audit trails.
  • Automated Decline: Identifies inactive businesses for automatic decline.

Implementing Cobalt Intelligence: A Step-by-Step Guide

Getting started with Cobalt Intelligence is a straightforward process:

1. Initial Setup: Create an account and receive API credentials.
2. Integration Planning: Determine which data points and features match your workflow.
3. Development: Implement the API using Cobalt's detailed documentation.
4. Testing: Validate integration with test credentials.
5. Production Deployment: Move to production with ongoing support.

Cobalt Intelligence provides real-time data and intelligent matching algorithms via API to help alternative business lenders reduce fraud, improve compliance, and streamline operations.

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