Most US banks need biometrics to stand up mobile onboarding, iProov report finds

Even with the surge in selfie biometrics and ID document checks for remote onboarding, nearly two-thirds of U.S. banks do not allow customers to set up accounts through a mobile app, according to new research released by iProov.

Adding to the difficulty of bank account opening, half of U.S. institutions require three different pieces of ID to open an account online, and 45 percent took more than two days to open and deposit money into, according to the ‘Online Banking in the U.S.’ report. Three in four have four or more password requirements and 35 percent require more than 20 clicks to onboard a new client.

Clients are also asked to recall detailed events from their credit history by 55 percent of U.S. banks.

The situation can surely be improved, as iProov finds its biometric technology with Genuine Presence Assurance can deliver onboarding success rates higher than 98 percent in under 60 seconds.

“Biometric technology now outperforms humans when it comes to identity verification,” says iProov Inc. President Joe Palmer. “An online biometric face scan provides a bank with greater levels of security than asking a customer to go into a branch to be checked by a person.”

Online financial service use was also dramatically increasing even before the pandemic, with 46 percent of U.S. consumers saying they have used at least two online financial services in 2019, compared to only 17 percent in 2015.

iProov also estimates that onboarding costs can be cut by 90 percent with biometric checks and other digitally-enabled processes.

The report provides guidance on the essential elements of onboarding, data on how easy or difficult it is for customers to open bank accounts and how long it takes, and concludes that many financial institutions can benefit from automated simplified onboarding processes with biometric authentication.

iProov has also been recognized as a Cool Vendor for Identity Access Management and Fraud Detection by Gartner.

The Gartner report notes the importance of capabilities for blocking video replay attacks and ensuring genuine human presence for identity access management and fraud detection.

Customers of iProov’s facial recognition and Genuine Presence Assurance include the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the UK Home Office, GovTech Singapore, the NHS, Rabobank, ING and Knab Bank.

“2020 has clearly shown that businesses, governments and consumers crucially depend on proof of the genuine presence of an individual online,” states iProov CEO Andrew Bud. “The rapid shift to the use of remote online services and payments during COVID-19 has inevitably led to a sharp increase in online crime and fraud. Only Genuine Presence Assurance can protect against deepfakes and other sophisticated criminal tactics that will flourish in this new normal.”

iProov launched an integrated biometric assurance solution for global enterprises earlier this month.

Article Topics

banking  |  biometric liveness detection  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  identity management  |  identity verification  |  iProov  |  KYC  |  mobile app  |  onboarding  |  remote authentication