Identy.io gearing up to provide biometric support as US braces for influx of travelers

Identy.io is ready to tackle the challenges facing the U.S. travel industry. A release from the Delaware-headquartered biometric identity company has “renewed and updated its contactless biometric identity verification solutions with passive liveness, both through fingerprint and facial recognition.”

The aim is to contribute to the ongoing transformation of the travel experience, by reducing waiting times required for identity verification at pre-check in airports, during boarding in airplanes, or on arrival at a destination.

Motivating factors loom on the horizon of international sports. Per the release, a series of high profile sporting events stand to put additional stress on U.S. borders. Travelers will arrive for the 2025 Ryder Cup golf tournament, then the 2025 FIFA World Cup, which is expected to bring in more than 3.5 million visitors in just one month. The Olympic Games and Paralympic Games will follow in 2028 in Los Angeles, which is expected to host more than 1.5 million visitors.

Identy cites the U.S. Travel Association’s Commission on Seamless and Secure Travel, which estimated losses incurred in waiting times for the granting of entry visas at more than $150 billion.

In short, the firm believes the U.S. is facing “one of the greatest challenges in its history in terms of visitor arrivals, which will stress its ability to process and approve visas for millions of people in record time without causing significant delays or endless queues at verification points.” Better identity verification tools are desperately needed to expedite border procedures, and “biometric technology is expected to undergo a major boost in the coming years to meet this requirement.”

Identy says what differentiates its mobile ID product is a new layer of security that verifies a user’s identity “in a way that is virtually impossible to replicate.” Since data lives on a user’s phone, they can maintain strict control over what data is shared and when.

The firm’s biometric identification fingerprint solution meets the NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology) digital identity management strategic guidelines by supporting eKYC processes and AML frameworks, as well as complying with the ISO 30107-3 standard for liveness.

Jesús Aragón, CEO of Identy.io, says that “with our proprietary technology and our experience as founding members of the FIDO Alliance, Identy.io is consolidating its position as a leading player in advance travel authorizations in the U.S.”

“We are fully aware of the challenge for border management agencies to verify that the person in front of them is who they say they really are, and to decide in a matter of minutes if they are eligible or not to enter the country,” says “Our identity verification solutions with liveness aim to make this process faster, more cost-effective from an economic point of view, but without forgetting simplicity, effectiveness and security for the end user.”

UK, Liberia introduce new digital border procedures for visitors

Travel is digitizing across the globe, and biometrics is positioned to alleviate pain points.

Euronews reports that the UK’s Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system has officially expanded to European travellers, meaning all European visitors will need ETA approval to enter the UK.

The requirement went into effect for travellers from the U.S., Canada and Australia on January 8 2025, following a rollout last November for nationals of Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

Travelers can request and pay for an ETA through an app available on the UK government website. Most visitors will receive notice in three days via email. Once a passport or travel credential is linked to an ETA, the app can be deleted. An ETA lasts two years.

For now, the cost of an ETA is £10 (€12/US$13), but goes up to £16 (€19/US$20) on April 9.

Liberia has also launched an electronic visa system that allows visitors from some companies to apply for a visa on arrival to the country, with linked biometrics.

Per VisaNews, countries with Liberian embassies, including the US, the UK, France and Belgium, are not eligible for the online process.

The Visa on Arrival system is an initiative of the Liberia Immigration Service (LIS). Elijah F. Rufus, acting commissioner general of LIS, says it is “crucial to Liberia’s digital transformation and modernization. By combining local expertise with global experience, we have created a secure and efficient system that not only improves border control, but also contributes to the growth of the country’s economy.”

Article Topics

biometrics  |  border security  |  digital identity  |  digital travel  |  face biometrics  |  identity management  |  Identy  |  visas