What is Relying Party?

A relying party is any system that relies on someone else’s identity proof or authentication. You didn’t issue the credential; you trust it…to a point. OAuth clients. OIDC consumers. Merchants relying on network SCA. A marketplace deferring to a third‑party KYC decision.

Trust is earned, not free. Specify the levels of assurance you’ll accept, the evidence you’ll require, and how you’ll periodically re‑verify on your own. Capture issuer, method, timestamps, claims so support teams and auditors can retrace the chain. Got a token asserting “strong auth”? Doesn’t mean you shouldn’t escalate if context screams risk: new device, high transaction amount.

If features or payouts are high‑value, anchor your reliance with your own identity verification at enrollment, or upon triggers. Stitch it together inside a risk‑based AML compliance framework so third‑party trust complements your obligations, not skirts them.

Borrow trust, own decisions.