Jumio is highlighting the benefits of document-centric forms of identity proofing. In that regard, the company argues that document-based forms of identification are both more convenient and more secure than the traditional data-based alternatives.
According to Jumio, the problem with a data-based approach is that there is no guarantee that the information being entered actually belongs to the person doing the entering. Due to a large number of data breaches, cybercriminals now have access to a wealth of personal information, including names, addresses, and even social security numbers. As a result, data alone is no longer a reliable indicator of a person’s identity in an online interaction.
So why are data-centric forms of identification still so popular? The answer is a mix of compliance and convenience. Data collection is an essential part of many Know Your Customer regulations, which means that financial institutions need to gather certain details when a customer opens a new account. Cross-referencing that information with an external database is also fast and inexpensive.
Document-centric identification, on the other hand, introduces a degree of friction, since users need to take a photo of their ID and take a selfie. Meanwhile, a system that can verify photo images is more expensive and takes more time than one that only needs to check static information that can be punched into a simple form.
However, that cost-benefit analysis is shifting, both because document-centric identification is becoming less of a hassle, and because data-centric identification now carries too much risk. Financial institutions that rely solely on data are increasingly exposing themselves to multiple forms of fraud, and to large regulatory fines if a governing body finds that the organization has not done enough to prevent money laundering and other forms of financial crime.
By the same token, consumers are becoming more comfortable with selfie scans thanks to the introduction of authentication features like Touch ID, which can perform a match in a matter of seconds. That’s why Jumio believes that there will be a massive shift towards document-based identification in the next few years, citing a Gartner report that predicts that the number of organizations with document-based onboarding will jump from 30 to 80 percent by 2022.
COVID-19 could accelerate that process as more companies transition to a remote work environment. Jumio itself is best known as a provider of document-based onboarding technology, and was recently listed as a Representative Vendor in the Gartner Market Guide for the third consecutive year.
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