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COMPARISON

VU ONE vs FaceTec: identity as an all-in-one platform

FaceTec has iBeta Level 2 like VU ONE, but it's only technology, not a full platform. VU ONE delivers complete, end-to-end protection.

NATIVE LATAM PLATFORM

VU ONE — KEY ADVANTAGES

  • Platform that covers the full digital identity lifecycle.
  • iBeta Level 2 · ISO/IEC 30107-3 certification. Renewed in 2025.
  • Native integrations with official biometric registries.
  • Fast TCO and predictable ROI. Can go to production in a few weeks.
  • VU CIAM®, Authentication Management®, and Fraud Analysis®.
VS
GLOBAL PLATFORM

FACETEC — LIMITATIONS

  • Technology provider (SDK) specialized in 3D liveness and matching.
  • iBeta Level 2 · ISO/IEC 30107-3 certification.
  • No native or government integrations.
  • Lower initial TCO but slower path to production, requiring months of integration with other platforms.
  • FaceTec only provides liveness. Your company must acquire and integrate other vendors or build the remaining capabilities internally.
TL;DR

3 differences that define the choice for LATAM

VU's strategic positioning

VU is the only platform that covers the full digital identity lifecycle in a single platform: Onboarding + CIAM + Enterprise MFA + Fraud Prevention. FaceTec is a technology SDK specialized only in 3D liveness and matching. It is not a full platform, but a component.

Predictable pricing model

By unifying 4 capabilities in one platform, VU eliminates the cost of licensing, integrating, and maintaining 3 or 4 different vendors: IDV + CIAM + MFA + Fraud. With FaceTec, the SDK price is only the beginning. The real cost includes months of internal development to build the UI, backend, CIAM, fraud prevention, and integrations, making it the more expensive and slower option in the long term.

Technical parity, strategic difference

iBeta Level 2 certification is a standard that both VU and FaceTec meet. The difference is not the certificate. The difference is that VU is a platform where liveness is integrated with government validation, CIAM, MFA, and fraud prevention, while FaceTec is only a component that requires internal development to become a functional system.

VU ONE vs FaceTec: Full Comparison Table

Below, we present a table with differentiators for financial services, government, and gaming companies operating in Argentina, Chile, Colombia, and Brazil.

CAPABILITY
KYC identity verification
iBeta ISO/IEC 30107-3 certification
Liveness detection
Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
Data processing in LATAM
On-premise deployment
Argentina regulation (RENAPER)
Colombia regulation (Registraduría Nacional del Estado Civil)
Brazil regulation (Receita Federal SERPRO)
Paraguay regulation (RNP)
Peru regulation (RENIEC)
Bolivia regulation (SEGIP)
Honduras regulation (RNP)
Dominican Republic regulation (JCE)
Ecuador regulation (Registro Civil)
Panama regulation (Tribunal Electoral)
Spanish/Portuguese support
Guaranteed response SLA
REST API + mobile SDKs
Base price (enterprise)
Audit & reporting dashboard
Native
Level 2 (2025)
Active + passive
Native
100% regional
Available
Native
Native
Native
Native
Native
Native
Native
Native
Native
Native
24/7 with SLA
4h critical / 8h standard
iOS, Android, Web
Regional quote
Native + export
Not included
Level 2 (2019)
Active + passive
Requires integration
U.S. servers by default
SaaS only
Requires customization
Requires customization
Requires customization
Requires customization
Requires customization
Requires customization
Requires customization
Requires customization
Requires customization
Requires customization
Limited / English
Not published
iOS, Android, Web
Global USD (unpredictable at scale)
Not published

Quantifiable VU ONE advantage over FaceTec

The following indicators reflect the operational impact of an identity verification platform built for LATAM versus a global platform adapted to the region. Biometric accuracy data corresponds to the 2025 iBeta certificate.

20%
is the SDK cost within the real investment.
97%
effectiveness in LATAM government integrations
< 4h
Guaranteed critical support SLA. In Spanish and Portuguese.

Technical analysis by capability: CIAM, MFA, fraud prevention, and LATAM support

When comparing companies, the decision often focuses on certifications that validate high security standards. But in the comparison between VU ONE and FaceTec, other factors become critical: the ability to cover the full authentication lifecycle and local presence in LATAM. Both are absent in FaceTec. Below, we present the technical analysis of each area for product, compliance, and technology teams evaluating both options.

KYC / Onboarding

VU ONE solves identity verification by validating against the official source, while FaceTec is an SDK that only confirms the presence of a live person. The difference is between verifying a real identity and verifying a document.

VU ONE: validates identities against 8 government registries in LATAM in real time, combining OCR, biometrics, and iBeta Level 2 certified liveness.
FaceTec: limited to a 3D liveness SDK. It does not perform document verification (OCR, MRZ) or validate against official sources.
Differentiator: Government validation is critical for identity authentication lifecycles.

Enterprise MFA

VU ONE includes an enterprise multi-factor authentication module ready to integrate, while FaceTec does not offer any MFA capability and must be built around from scratch.

VU ONE: Authentication Management® with omnichannel MFA, passwordless, Zero Trust, and support for enterprise protocols: SAML2, OIDC, Radius, and Active Directory.
FaceTec: no MFA or continuous authentication functionality.
Differentiator: contracting one company for the full cycle saves money, time, and supports greater scalability.

Fraud prevention engine

VU ONE's fraud prevention engine monitors with ML, while FaceTec only verifies at the moment of capture.

VU ONE: Fraud Analysis® based on CEP + Machine Learning, monitoring transactions in real time with fingerprinting, geolocation, and AML/LAFT case management.
FaceTec: does not include any transactional fraud detection engine. It only verifies liveness at the moment of capture.
Differentiator: Continuous detection capability is the major differentiator of VU ONE.

LATAM support

VU ONE's local presence makes the comparison with FaceTec almost nonexistent.

VU ONE: has more than 15 years of experience and was founded in LATAM to operate in the region.
FaceTec: is a U.S. company that offers an SDK, with no presence in LATAM and no support in Spanish or Portuguese.
Differentiator: for regulators and governments, local presence is not optional.

When FaceTec is enough

FaceTec is viable only if the project is 100% focused on liveness and you have your own development team. In other words:

  • You only need liveness verification and biometric matching, without requiring document KYC, CIAM, MFA, or fraud prevention.
  • You have an internal development team, or budget for integrators, to build the UI, backend, integrations, and full flow.
  • Your project has a 12 to 24 month development horizon, assuming time-to-market is not critical.
  • Integration with LATAM government registries is not required.

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes, both platforms have iBeta Level 2 / ISO/IEC 30107-3 certification for detecting identity spoofing attacks. This internationally recognized certification validates the ability to detect fraud attempts using screens, photocopies, or masks. The difference is that VU ONE integrates this technology into a complete digital identity platform, while FaceTec offers it as an isolated SDK that requires additional integration and development.
VU ONE performs complete identity verification by combining document reading with biometric validation against 8 government registries in LATAM in real time. FaceTec is limited to a 3D liveness SDK that only confirms the presence of a live person in front of the camera. VU ONE addresses one of the most demanded regulatory requirements in LATAM: validation against the official biometric registry.
VU ONE includes a complete Authentication Management® module that offers omnichannel MFA, passwordless, Zero Trust, and support for enterprise protocols such as SAML2, OIDC, Radius, and Active Directory. FaceTec does not include any MFA or continuous authentication functionality, since its scope is limited to the biometric capture moment.
VU ONE has a Fraud Analysis® engine based on CEP (Complex Event Processing) + Machine Learning that monitors transactions in real time, using more than 36 fingerprinting parameters on web and 13 on mobile, geolocation, and an AML/LAFT case management module. FaceTec does not offer continuous monitoring or transactional behavior analysis, leaving a critical security gap that your company would need to cover with another platform.
VU ONE is a Latin American company with more than 15 years of experience in the region, local teams, support in Spanish and Portuguese, and deep knowledge of regulators such as BCRA, SFC, CMF, SBS, and CNBV. FaceTec is a U.S. company that sells an SDK, with no physical presence in LATAM, no support teams in local languages, and no native integrations with government registries in the region.
VU ONE has a predictable pricing model, either fixed license or volume-based SaaS, covering the full platform, support, and maintenance, with implementation time measured in weeks. FaceTec may appear lower cost at the beginning because of the SDK price, but the total cost of ownership (TCO) is significantly higher once internal or integrator development is added to build the UI, backend, government integrations, and CIAM, MFA, and fraud modules, which implies a 12 to 24 month time-to-market.
NEXT STEP

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In 30 minutes we show you VU ONE in action: biometric KYC flow, certified liveness detection and the integration or migration path from your current stack.

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