Despite my prior assumption, Envoc remains relevant to those of us in the identity/biometric universe. Farewell LA Wallet, hello FaceLock.
When I first heard of Envoc
I worked for IDEMIA from 2017 to 2020, back when mobile driver’s licenses were starting to enter productive use. IDEMIA was pursuing the market, and Gemalto (later Thales) was also pursuing it with several proofs of concept. And of course Apple, Google, and Samsung would enter the market later.
But none of these big or really big companies was the first with a mobile driver’s license.
The first mobile driver’s license came out of Louisiana, from a company called Envoc.
“Envoc was founded in Baton Rouge to ship software that regulated institutions can bet on. Not consultancy decks. Not prototypes that rot in a drawer. Shipped systems with named owners and runbooks.”
Envoc worked on a variety of projects since its founding in 2003, but I didn’t hear about it until it launched LA Wallet (where the “LA” stands for Louisiana, not Los Angeles).
At which point I admit I turned up my nose.
“IDEMIA has been producing driver’s licenses for years. Gemalto has been producing driver’s licenses for years. What can this Envoc do?”
Well, Envoc could beat the big companies at their own game. Available for both iOS and Android, LA Wallet was the first state mobile driver’s license in the United States, allowing residents (according to my private research for a Bredemarket client) to access numerous government services (unlike California and some other states, where the number of entities accepting its mobile driver’s license is still limited).
The divestiture
But in December 2025, Envoc divested its LA Wallet business.
At which point I admit I turned up my nose.
“Well, Envoc will now go on doing whatever else it does, but I won’t ever encounter them again.”
I was wrong.
FaceLock: what Envoc is doing today
To learn how wrong I was, listen to ID Tech’s latest ID Talk podcast.
“In the latest episode of ID Talk, founder and CEO Calvin Fabre joins Tony Bitzionis and Alex Perala to recount launching the [LA Wallet] app in 2018…
“The conversation then turns to FaceLock, the identity verification platform Envoc launched this year. FaceLock compares a live 3D face scan, captured with FaceTec’s liveness technology, with the photo on a government-issued ID, then lets an organization issue a signed credential carrying a FaceTec UR Code that can be printed and checked without a network connection.”
Or if podcasts aren’t your thing, read what Biometric Update wrote.
“Fraud typically happens after onboarding, Fabre says, during a transaction like wire transfer, an account change or a remote enrollment. FaceLock credentials are issued with a comparison of a government-issued ID document with a selfie using FaceTec’s face biometrics and liveness detection.
“’FaceLock brings ongoing authentication to those high-stakes moments, using liveness and real-time challenges,’ the CEO says.”
Also see Envoc’s page on FaceLock.
In conclusion, Envoc remains relevant.
