Australian online pet marketplace PetsForHomes has introduced a Know Your Customer (KYC) biometric verification tool to protect legitimate pet breeders and buyers using the website.
KYC verification is commonly used in the financial services industry to verify the identity and suitability of customers as part of the due diligence required to prevent fraud, bribery and money laundering, as well as on cryptocurrency exchanges.
Breeders who have completed KYC verification will get a Breeder Verification Badge that can be displayed on their PetsForHomes advertiser profile to help protect pet purchasers from fraudulent or irresponsible breeders such as puppy farms.
PetsForHomes has a stated mission to promote ethical breeders by giving them a free platform to advertise their pets for sale and adoption, and aims to be “Australia’s safest place to adopt and buy a pet”.
PR manager Kate Teng said: “When we started PetsForHomes, we planned to have accountability for breeders by being the only site to have breeder reviews and our aim has always been to increase transparency within the pet community.
“Implementing KYC verification is another step toward that goal. Our hope is that puppy farms and identity thieves will no longer be able to hide from the pet community, and will finally be stamped out.”
