Why it’s vital to automate ID verification in a digital world

With an increasing number of public services being made available online, there has been a corresponding growth in fraud.

This makes it essential that those in the public sector confirm the identity of those they are providing services to.

Today, the best way to deliver accurate and fast identity verification is to automate the process.

Electronic ID verification (eIDV)

A good place to start is to use an automated eIDV service that supports cross-checks against an individual’s contact data in real-time, as they complete an online application process, while ensuring the user experience isn’t compromised. It’s only by using an eIDV service that matches the name, address, date of birth, email, or phone number against reputable data streams such as government agency, credit agency and utility records, that it’s possible to effectively confirm the ID of an individual. Address validation – matching a name to an address – is a particularly important part of the process when it comes to fraud prevention.

Additionally, with eIDV it’s possible to strengthen governance by aiding compliance with ‘know your customer’ (KYC) or citizen, and antimoney laundering (AML) regulations.

Biometric technology

In combination with eIDV, automated biometric technology plays an important role in verifying identity, without the need for time-consuming security questions and passwords – improving the user experience. A tool utilising optical character recognition (OCR) can check the validity of ID documentation in real-time, by successfully examining the image in the master ID documents with the selfie provided by the applicant or customer to see if they match.

It’s important that the biometric service delivers liveness checks to prevent fraudsters using creative methods like 2D images and video playback to trick the facial verification technology and ‘prove’ they are the person they are impersonating. This requires a ‘challenge response’ where the individual is requested to blink to confirm eye movement and proof of life.

Sanctions / watchlists

Access a service that is able to provide all the global sanctions (watchlist) data from governments and international bodies, such as the UN and EU, in one place; one that has the technology to automatically update new sanctions information as soon as it’s announced. This is critical with the large number of sanctions being announced against Russia and Belarus.

Automated vs manual checks

Automating ID verification is significantly better than the physical, time consuming, and more costly checks that traditionally take place behind the scenes at public bodies. With manual checks human error is always a possibility, as it’s not easy for staff to check documents for authenticity.

Also, employees can’t be expected to know all ID document types, which can cause review-related delays. Additionally, sourcing those with sanctions against them using a search engine is not best practice, particularly with watchlists readily available.

The accuracy, speed, user experience and cost benefits offered by the automation powering eIDV, biometrics and watchlists are far superior to any manual approach to ID verification, and they provide a fully auditable pathway should that be needed for reference. It’s why automating identity verification today and in the future is the way forward.