iProov survey shows U.S. consumer trust in biometrics, DMV as digital ID provider

People are getting used to the idea of selfie biometrics backing online processes for digital identity verification, as show by a new survey from iProov. The same basic process has been approved for addressing regulatory requirements in Germany, as IDnow notes, while TruNarrative, Veriff, Sumsub, and Jumio have unveiled new partnerships, a solution and a case study involving smartphone-based face biometrics. A new vehicle-sharing company has entered the North American market, with biometric license and helmet checks.

9 in 10 want to renew license online: iProov

Nine out of ten Americans would pay extra to be able to renew their driver’s licenses online, according to survey results released by iProov, which would presumably mean remote biometric and liveness checks. More than 3 in 10 say they have driven with an expired license to avoid visiting the department of motor vehicles (DMV), amid pandemic concerns about virus spread.

Further, 45 percent said biometric face verification would be a way to secure identity online. As in most of its recent promotional materials, iProov emphasizes the difference between face verification and facial recognition, or surveillance applications.

When asked if the DMV should provide digital identity services, 64 percent said ‘yes,’ and only 12 percent said ‘no.’

“There’s a real opportunity here for the DMVs to make citizens’ lives easier while increasing revenues and simplifying operations,” says Joe Palmer, president of iProov Inc. “It also increases security: biometric face verification technology has been proven to be more accurate than humans at matching a photo to a physical person.”

The survey results show more than half of U.S. citizens consider enabling them to do things online a way their state DMV could improve customer service, the most popular choice. The service the most people said they would like to perform online was driver’s license renewal (54 percent), followed by vehicle license renewal (48 percent), and then voter registration (43 percent).

“It’s very clear that consumers prefer the convenience of doing things online,” Palmer adds. “Until now, an in-person visit has been necessary to ensure the security of driver’s licenses and other sensitive documentation. With iProov’s Genuine Presence Assurance technology, that has changed: organizations can now securely verify user identity online. This enables an individual to complete an application, such as their REAL ID upgrade, using a smartphone or computer from the comfort of their home.”

IDnow lauds German regulators approval of biometric video customer verification

Germany’s telecommunications regulator Bundesnetzagentur has approved the use of video identification through face biometrics as a means of customer identity verification, based on the German Trust Services Act, in a move welcomed by IDnow.

IDnow provides this kind of AI-based automated service with its AutoIdent, with patents for biometrics and other technology.

“The decision of Bundesnetzagentur is an important milestone for platform companies like IDnow. In the future, IDnow, as one of the leading European platform providers, will be able to offer additional, automated identification methods to numerous other industries in Europe. This is an essential step towards a digital future in Germany and for Europe and shows that the time for secure digital identities has come,” says Andreas Bodczek, CEO of IDnow. “Consumer security is always at the forefront of the development of our procedures. For many years, we have therefore been actively working with various organisations in politics and regulation to jointly shape this secure, European future.”

TruNarrative provides bank localized fraud protection

Ikano Bank, founded by the family behind furniture retailer Ikea, has selected TruNarrative’s biometric fraud prevention platform as part of its digital transformation effort.

TruNarrative’s selfie biometrics will be used to deliver a low-friction user onboarding experience that furthers the bank’s global financial crime prevention strategy. The platform will be integrated with Ikano Bank’s technology stack, including its core architecture, front end website and mobile apps, to enable manual and automated decisions within a single platform, and localized regional approaches.

Veriff launches biometric reverification service

Veriff has launched a new ID document and selfie biometric reverification product for online customers.

The new Face Match is born out of Veriff’s first-ever hackathon, according to the announcement.

Key features of Face Match include video liveness checks, biometric comparison of a newly submitted image to a reference image already stored in the system, assisted image capture, real-time responses roughly within a second, and a reduced cost compared to a full identity verification session, Veriff says.

“With Face Match, Veriff makes sure that the facial biometrics of the person match the historically captured Government Issued ID to authenticate their identity,” said Janer Gorohhov, Veriff co-founder and CPO. “Consumers have become so accustomed to a fast, seamless experience online in this digital-first world, and based on the great ideas from our first-ever hackathon, we’re now able to deliver this innovative offering to our customers.”

The company suggests Face Match implementations for resetting credentials, high-risk customers and remote employee verification.

Sumsub partners on environmental protection

Sumsub and ecological initiative GreenBond Meter have partnered to provide biometrics for know your customer (KYC), know your business (KYB), crypto monitoring and video verification for cryptocurrency purchases to fund the protection of native forests.

Investors can purchase GreenBond Meter Coins (GBM Coins) to protect a square meter of jungle or native forest. The project aims to protect 100,000 hectares of forest in ten countries across five continents. Investors are granted a carbon credit in the form of a GBM Bond.

Sumsub video selfie biometrics are provided to protect against fraud during onboarding, and Sumsub also helps simplify compliance for GreenBond Meter with automatically generated reports for regulators.

Jumio selfie biometrics reduce manual reviews for financial services marketplace

Jumio has published a case study of its partnership with financial services marketplace app Bofin, for which it provides ID document and biometric selfie checks during customer onboarding.

The case study suggests that Bofin’s vision for a single global financial services marketplace sets it apart, but also creates challenging conditions for ensuring regulatory compliance, given the global customer base and local KYC and AML requirements.

Bofin had tested other providers and found error rates requiring manual review in up to 70 percent of cases. Jumio’s SDK outperformed them in fraud prevention and user experience.

“Our model looks to open banking up to customers regardless of their physical location, and therefore must be able prevent attempts to circumvent the need to be present with the device,” states Mohamed Dafea, Bofin’s founder and chairman. “With the advent of deepfakes and video calls, Jumio’s technology has been much more efficient in ensuring authentication is only possible when the user is physically present.”

Moped-sharing service launched in DC with selfie biometrics

Lime is launching its shared electric mopeds to Washington, DC, with facial recognition checks against user driver’s licenses and helmet selfie checks, Smart Cities Dive reports.

The company provides a mandatory in-app education course for new riders, developed along with the Motorcycle Safety Foundation. Lime CEO Wayne Ting says emphasis on safety differentiates the company from its competitors.

The article also notes that vehicle-sharing company Revel introduced selfie helmet checks as part of a safety upgrade when it returned to New York City after being pulled in 2020.

Lime is deploying 100 vehicles in DC initially, and hoping to eventually reach 600. Paris is next on its city rollout plan.

Article Topics

biometric liveness detection  |  biometrics  |  facial recognition  |  identity verification  |  IDnow  |  iProov  |  Jumio  |  onboarding  |  remote authentication  |  Sumsub  |  TruNarrative  |  Veriff