Mitek ID document and selfie biometric checks help Gov.UK Verify scale onboarding as demand spikes

Selfie biometric technology supplied by Mitek and Digidentity helped scale the operations of Gov.UK Verify to handle the massive influx of new users joining the service during the COVID-19 crisis, the companies have announced.

The combined technology from Mitek and Digidentity enabled up to 400 applicants per minute to be processed for onboarding UK residents to the digital government service platform.  More than 1 million new Gov.UK Verify accounts have been created since March 16, 2020.

“As demand for urgent government support is on the rise, digital identity verification solutions become key to mitigating issues linked to false or inaccurate claims – a possibility where separate databases are not linked to the single individual claimant profile,” Mitek Head of Strategy Joe Bloemendaal told Biometric Update in an email interview.

Users can access 22 UK government services online, including Universal Credit applications, business and self-employed payments, car registration, tax services, and pension queries.

Applicants can scan an ID document and take a selfie for face biometric matching, and Mitek and Digidentity apply a combination of forensic experts and bank-grade digital identity verification technology to perform verification for account opening. Checks are automated with machine learning, and the forensic experts called in for the most sever or complex cases.

Asked about the number of fraud attempts blocked, Bloemendaal declined to provide a figure, but emphasized that the true measure of the technology’s success is the rate at which it was able to successfully process secure digital identity verifications. Successful applications peaked at 164,672 new profiles per week.

“Where digital identity verification is concerned, security always trumps speed,” he observes. “At times like these, maintaining a standards-based approach is paramount to safeguard consumers from the risk of identity fraud.”

Mitek and Digidentity have enabled millions of Gov.UK Verify registrations since the service’s launch, according to the announcement.

Bloemendaal suggests other governments can learn from the program’s success in digital identity verification.

“As we expect to see a surge in instances that require remote access, governments and countries should be prepared for this,” Bloemendaal writes. “We believe our technology and experience in successfully verifying millions of UK digital identities at pace could help support vital public sector and public health initiatives going forward.”

Article Topics

biometric identification  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  facial recognition  |  fraud prevention  |  Gov.UK  |  government services  |  identity verification  |  Mitek  |  remote authentication  |  selfie biometrics  |  UK