Is Remote Identity Verification the Right Choice For Your Business?

As sensitive personal transactions move closer to online, remote identity verification becomes ever more important and crucial. In highly regulated industries, such as banking, the necessity for remote ID verification is becoming more common. This is because of regulatory compliance with international regulations such as Know Your Customer (KYC). There are many reasons to verify ID, which includes both employee and customer onboarding which call for companies to gather, verify and store personal IDs.

Remote Identity Verification

Companies have been using remote identity verification for years and many industries now use it extensively. They do this in order to establish trustworthiness and to track employee attendance. It is also used in areas such as healthcare and government to ensure that the people who hold various key roles within the organisation are not engaging in any activities which would break rules and regulations. Verifying personal details using ID is easy and very effective in these instances because the individuals cannot lie on their resume or ID application. Remote identity verification is now a standard requirement for all organisations that require a valid ID from their applicants.

One common example of a business requiring a remote identity verification process is the airline industry. The processes involved include collecting passenger information from passengers at check-in and using biometric and procedural methods to match the passenger with a known travel companion. The biometric and procedural processes used by airlines include scanning passengers against a database of criminal records, past history of travel, and payment history. This allows the airline to quickly identify prohibited behavior by employees and guests and proactively monitor all employees to ensure compliance with proper security procedures. The use of digital identification cards also reduces employee fraud because passengers cannot easily steal a digital ID from a wallet or coat pocket. The universal design of these cards also ensures that they can be used in countries that do not recognise or have specific laws relating to the use of digital identification cards.

Private service providers such as background check companies and hirers use biometric verification to prevent the use of false information by employees and to ensure that no one pretends to be someone else on an employment record. The use of this biometric verification system is widespread in several industries including healthcare, finance and the armed forces. The use of this system helps reduce the opportunity for inefficiency and fraudulent practices by helping personnel identify each other when required. In these instances, private service providers and agencies have taken advantage of advances in technology to provide their clients with complete, cost-effective and convenient remote identity verification services.

Biometric and procedural identity authentication systems often require trained agents to administer the process. This can pose a significant security risk to organizations because an agent can be tricked or intimidated by an employee or visitor's ability to pass the tests. This security issue is especially important for organizations that require extensive procedures and documentations to prove compliance with employment and legal regulations. A professional remote id verification service provider will ensure that agents administering the procedure have undergone extensive training and are trustworthy and able to pass the necessary examinations.

Businesses that rely on employees to perform their daily activities are particularly vulnerable to security threats posed by poorly trained employees. Employees may not be aware of the latest fraud protection and monitoring technologies that are available to them. Unscrupulous employees and even employers themselves may be unaware that some of the new technology can be quite effective in reducing the risk of fraud and ensuring that employees take reasonable steps to protect themselves from crime. This means that some employers may try and reduce their annual IT budget by installing expensive but unnecessary systems that are unlikely to have any significant impact on reducing overall losses. For this reason it is advisable that businesses carefully consider the options that are available to them and then weigh up the pros and cons of each before making a final decision on whether to install remote id verification software or hardware in their workplace.