World to spend $26B on IDV checks by 2029: Juniper

By 2029, the total global spend for digital identity verification checks will spike by 74 percent to reach $26 billion, according to a new report from Juniper Research.

With eIDAS 2.0 set to transform the digital economy in the EU, West Europe is forecasted to spend a substantial chunk on ID verification, as is China and the far east; each account for nearly a quarter of total spend. North America is likewise a healthy market.

Pegged at $15.2 billion in 2024, the industry will grow as innovation finds new ways to reduce friction in digital identity verification checks, with behavioral biometrics flagged as a key enabling technology.

The white paper, “Three Technologies Enhancing the Digital ID Verification Experience,” predicts that behavioral biometrics will “detect anomalous user behaviour for device inputs such as keystrokes and screen swipes to identify fraudsters, enabling identity verification vendors to detect fraudulent activity earlier and more efficiently.”

But it also emphasizes that “to create a more user friendly and efficient situation” and attain the best results in digital identity verification, three key technologies need to be combined or used in tandem: behavioral biometrics, facial recognition and liveness detection. Passive liveness in particular, enhances the frictionless user experience during digital identity verification.

Future lies in eyes, veins, standards, blockchains – not in handprints

The report notes the ongoing evolution of biometric technology: “biometrics is not standing still, with several emerging methods adding new capabilities that can be leveraged across different scenarios.”

A couple focus on the eyeballs, namely iris scans and retina scans, both of which Juniper says have particular potential as fraudsters develop better spoofing and deepfake attacks against facial recognition systems.

Handprints, the report dismisses as a fading tech, forecasting that “there will only be limited growth in the use of handprint recognition technology, unless there is a significant change in its usability.” And while vein pattern recognition has limited implementation, it is “an extremely secure verification method.”

Regulations to play bigger role in driving reliability, privacy

Juniper says blockchain-based technologies driving self-sovereign principles will enhance the security of identity verification in highly-regulated sectors such as healthcare and financial services. Data sovereignty, minimal necessary data sharing and user control will all play a role in how identity verification develops.

So will standards. “The ‘electronic Identification, Authentication, and trust Services’ (eIDAS) regulation is ushering in massive change in the EU, with interoperable digital identity wallets being offered to all citizens by May 2026,” the report notes. “The research recommends that vendors adhere to digital identity standards by working with decentralised databases to maximise the security and privacy of user information.”

Article Topics

behavioral biometrics  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  eIDAS  |  identity verification  |  Juniper Research  |  market report