Identity and verification (ID&V) are two closely linked concepts that play an increasingly critical role in consumer’s day-to-day lives. Identification systems use a trusted ledger, process or token to identify a person or entity. Verification is answering the question “is this person who they say they are?”
They are familiar to us in our everyday lives. From showing our passports when entering a country to showing proof of address and identity when applying for a financial product, it’s something we all do.
All of these methods of identification and verification rely on the presentation of a physical document. And, of course, up until the digital commerce revolution, when the vast majority of transactions were carried out face to face, it was a tried and tested method that worked.
These processes are something we are all familiar with. From boarding a flight to collecting a parcel from the Post Office, identifying and verifying ourselves has been commonplace for generations.
The internet changed how we shop forever. With an estimated 1.61bn online shoppers globally, and £52.25bn spent via ecommerce in the UK in 2015, the last decade and a half has seen grow into a well-established, even dominant, method for business and commerce.
Remote ID&V is nothing new. Consumers have carried out transactions by mail or telephone (MOTO) for decades. However, these all relied on forms of ID&V such as address and date of birth. Yet, as such information is now readily available online, they
can no longer be considered sufficiently robust.
This has driven a need to develop and accept new methods of ID&V with both customers and businesses having to adapt to the new business realities.
The most obvious of this is the password, which comes with its own drawbacks.
Having to come up with a secure, eight-character password which includes a capital, a symbol and a number can be a challenge, especially if you can’t use the last five variations.
This can lead to fundamental problem with digital ID&V if it is time consuming and challenging then it significantly detracts from the very convenience digital commerce is supposed to bring.
