Selfie Reverification, announced Thursday (Aug. 8), can validate customers online with a selfie from any device in less than two seconds.

“Identity verification isn’t a one-time event. As consumers interact with an online service over time, their risk profile can change,” Pablo Abreu, chief product and analytics officer at Socure, said in a news release. 

“That’s why it’s important to determine you are still who you say you are, without going through the full verification process again.”

According to the release, Selfie Reverification capability matches an incoming selfie with the previously verified ID headshot photo submitted during onboarding, while also looking for signs of a deepfake and age discrepancies between the photo and the users’ credentials.

“With identity attacks at an all-time high, once-validated good identities can go risky in an instant,” the company said.

“Selfie Reverification allows simple, fast and accurate trust decisions particularly important at the riskiest of moments — a high-value banking transaction, validating the identity of a babysitter-for-hire in an online marketplace, verifying age for alcohol deliveries.”

In addition, Selfie Reverification has integrated ‘liveness’ detection technology which makes sure the person taking the selfie is actually present, preventing spoofing techniques like face masks, image-of-an-image and deep fakes.

The release follows Socure’s recently partnership with online notarization firm Proof has  to prevent fraud in consumer agreements and forms, which the companies called a $200 trillion market opportunity.

“Industries are fighting an ever-increasing risk of fraud across their entire customer lifecycle,” the companies said in a news release, pointing to FinCEN data showing that false records and forgery cause more than $45 billion in fraudulent activity per year.

“Businesses are susceptible to fraud from the moment an account is opened, to every form, authorization, loan, and transfer that customers perform,” the release added. “These interactions occur through documents that are approved, signed and notarized.”

Meanwhile,  PYMNTS discussed identity attacks earlier this year with Bryan Lewis, CEO of Intellicheck, who offered a stark take on the damage a fraudster can inflict with a few bits of information.

“People don’t realize how easy it is to steal your identity. If I can get your social media account or your email, I can change everything about your life,” he told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster.

“I can change every password you have,” he added, before offering an even more ominous scenario: “I can ruin your reputation.” 

That’s particularly bad news for merchants, as up to 25% of consumers say they are willing to abandon a retailer if they learn that their identities have been stolen via a breach with that enterprise.

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IDCheck by Co-op, announced Thursday (Aug. 1), is available to members of the Co-op Shared Branch network, which lets credit union members conduct transactions at partner credit unions throughout the country.

“With the increase in digital capabilities and payments offerings, the potential for fraud will also continue to grow,” Amy Evans, Velera’s senior vice president for strategic network solutions, said in a news release provided to PYMNTS. “IDCheck supports an omnichannel fraud fighting and prevention strategy to safeguard credit unions and their members participating in Co-op Shared Branch.”

According to the release, IDCheck can help protect credit union (CU) members by authenticating their identity through their smart devices when accessing their accounts at a shared branch.

The tool asks members to share a photo of their ID and a selfie, and then uses advanced graph-defined logic, artificial intelligence (AI) and biometric data to verify the ID and the member in real time. From there, members get a one-time passcode to share with a teller and confirm their identity.

They can also pre-authenticate their identification before going into a branch to transact, or save their validation for future visits, said Velera, previously known as PSCU/Co-op Solutions.

As PYMNTS wrote last year, fraud attacks against banks and CUs aren’t new, although consumers have begun taking them much more seriously.

One recent study found that nearly three-quarters of consumers rate fraud protection as one of their top three priorities when opening a new account at a bank or CU, surpassing ease of use (61%) and good value for their money at 46%.

“CUs must implement strong measures to protect themselves and their members from fraud — or watch members take their business elsewhere,” PYMNTS wrote.

Meanwhile, PYMNTS Intelligence and Velera recently collaborated on the report “How CUs Can Drive Engagement with Self-Service Banking Innovation.”

The study found that “ongoing innovation in self-service banking — including online and mobile options and the ability to use any ATM — can help CUs stand out, especially among younger consumers.”

For example, close to one-quarter of Generation Z and bridge millennials picked a financial institution (FI) based on self-service banking convenience and user experience. CUs that make investments in self-service banking innovations are well-positioned to increase memberships among younger consumers — particularly Gen Z.

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The collaboration, announced in a news release Monday (July 22), allows Iowa residents to store their mobile ID in their Samsung Wallet.

Residents can now use the mobile ID to confirm their identity using their mobile phone at TSA checkpoints at the Des Moines and Eastern Iowa airports, along with 25 other participating airports in the country and other participating businesses.

“The launch of Iowa mobile ID in the Samsung Wallet brings an elevated convenience and security for Iowans with Samsung smartphones for airport security screening, age-restricted products, and other identity checks,” the release said. “Iowans can easily access their mobile ID in the Samsung Wallet by simply tapping their phone near the mobile ID reader or having the mobile ID reader scan the QR code.”

Samsung and IDEMIA first announced their partnership last year, rolling it to residents of Arizona and Iowa.

“Travelers who want to take advantage of this new capability will find that their Iowa mobile ID is a convenient option when going through the security process,” said John Bright, security director for the TSA in Iowa. “TSA will continue to embrace technology that improves security effectiveness while streamlining the passenger experience at airports.”

Meanwhile, PYMNTS wrote last month that the intertwined fates of digital identity and biometrics have begun to transform payments. As digital wallets gain traction, the security features fueling their use are emerging as components shaping the future of both commerce and authentication. 

For example, Mastercard recently debuted its first biometric checkout program in Europe, a face and iris payment pilot in Poland that lets users “buy with your eyes, pay with your glance,” as the company put it.

“When combined with digital IDs, which provide a secure and verifiable way to identify individuals online, the security of biometrics is further strengthened,” PYMNTS wrote. “Observers say the integration of biometric authentication and digital IDs could result in a fundamental rethink of how authentication and transaction security are approached, and ultimately help unlock the next generation potential of the digital, connected economy.”

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The company on Tuesday (July 16) announced its developer self-service platform along with an identity solution known as Prove Link SDK.

“As businesses exhaust huge amounts of resources to fight fraud and mitigate risk, they’re oftentimes doing so at the expense of the consumer experience,” Prove said in a news release provided to PYMNTS.

“Today’s consumers are inundated with an endless cycle of security measures online, saddling them with the responsibility of proving their identity, and ultimately leading them to abandon sign-ups, delay arduous onboarding and more. These so-called protective measures are grinding growth to a halt.”

The developer self-service platform, prove said, combats this problem by simplifying identity verification and authentication processes for businesses, offering real-time identity management throughout the lifecycle of customer identities, allowing for the highest pass rates with the lowest fraud rates. 

With the Prove Link SDK, the company says it is meeting an increased demand for identity solutions for things ranging from purchasing concert tickets to hailing a ride: “separating the bots and fraudsters from the verified consumers enables businesses to create better, trusted experiences for their customers and grow their bottom lines.”

Also Wednesday, the company announced the hiring of two new executives. Catherine Porter, a veteran of companies such as Meta, OpenTable and LinkedIn, has been named chief business officer, while Eric Lesser joins Prove as chief financial officer after spending time with companies that include Sealed, YipitData, and Payoneer.

PYMNTS spoke earlier this year with Prove CEO Rodger Desai, who said that he himself has been targeted by scammers using artificial intelligence (AI) to commit identity fraud.

“Someone sent me a website where I put in a two-second clip of my voice … and it had me singing songs,” Desai said. “The technology’s becoming democratized quickly, and it’s pretty cheap.”

He told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster that deepfakes present an increasing threat to business, adding that the phone needs to be the cornerstone of identity verification because it is often the device used to carry out fraud. A surge in business identity fraud requires a new approach to authenticating the person sending invoices, phoning in and even texting.

“The digital front doors of most businesses are not very secure,” said Desai.

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As of this week, people who want to renew their passports digitally can do so online. However, because the program is in trial mode, access is limited. It will only be available for a limited amount of time, beginning 1 p.m. (EST) and can only accept a limited number of applications each day.

According to the State Department’s website:

“During the next several months, we plan to continue to limit the number of applications accepted each day so we can monitor the system’s performance in real time. This beta release during which we are limiting the daily applications is an important and standard part of the software development process.”

This is not the first time the State Department has test-driven the program. It first tested a similar program in 2022 but took it down in 2023. This time officials sound more optimistic about the outcome, promising there will be a “full launch” of the digital application process soon.

This move from the State Department is undoubtedly welcome news to anyone who has had to update their passports through the traditional — and sometimes cumbersome — process of renewing by mail. However, as PYMNTS Intelligence reported earlier this year, the agency may be a little behind the curve when compared to other government agencies.

There are now more than 20 U.S. states in the process of adopting mobile driver’s licenses for their residents. Arizona, Colorado, Georgia and Maryland also support mobile IDs on the iPhone’s Apple Wallet. Meanwhile, Utah, California and Iowa have each issued unique state-sponsored mobile IDs that run on native platforms (rather than third-party digital wallets).

Meanwhile, at the federal level, both the TSA and the Department of Homeland Security are exploring the use of AI and biometrics to enhance their identification confirmation requirements, and the U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently introduced an app enabling eligible travelers to submit their photo, travel documents and customs declaration information directly through their mobile devices to streamline entry into the U.S.

PYMNTS Intelligence data confirms U.S. consumers support efforts such as these.

In our Digital Identity Tracker, “Advanced Identity Verification Accelerates Digital Onboarding,” we found that 70% of U.S. adults are interested in advanced ID verification methods and 42% say that using such resources would positively impact the thrust they would have in the organization offering them.

As the report determined, the more familiar consumers become with advanced ID verification technologies, the more their interest they have in learning more about the technologies. As the figure above illustrates, on average, nearly 3 in 10 U.S. consumers are very or extremely interested in advanced tools like facial recognition, and that enthusiasm grows once people use the technology. Fifty-seven percent of consumers surveyed who have used advanced ID verification technology in the past are very or extremely interested in using them again, which suggests that familiarity may incubate further interest — perhaps because it helps put privacy concerns or other types of apprehension to rest.

Meanwhile, 61% of respondents say they had only slight interaction with the technologies, or none at all, suggesting organizations and agencies still have a lot of work to do in educating consumers about advanced ID verification technologies.

Such an investment in education may be worth it. As we found in completing our Digital Identity Tracker, consumers — whether preparing to travel around the globe or opening an account at their local financial institution — want frictionless and streamlined experiences. The more that agencies and businesses can do to deliver on this consumer demand, the sooner outdated and inefficient manual processes can be eliminated.

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“The new platform provides a flexible and efficient way for businesses to securely verify identities and transactions, ensuring compliance and fraud prevention,” the Toronto-based company said in a news release Thursday (June 6).

Included in the platform are a variety of plans, such as KYC Lite for verifying government-issued photo IDs with advanced AI checks, KYC Full which also verifies addresses, emails and phone numbers, and KYB, designed to verify corporate documentation and beneficial owners. 

There are also options analyzing crypto and blockchain transactions, with the platform allowing payments via PayPal or credit card, automated volume discounts.

The launch comes at a time when compliance, “often viewed as a cumbersome necessity, is being reimagined as a strategic asset,” as PYMNTS wrote last month. 

“By adhering to stringent regulatory standards and embracing digital solutions that facilitate seamless interaction with tax authorities and ensure adherence to evolving regulatory standards, companies can differentiate themselves in a crowded market.”

But implementing a robust compliance framework isn’t a simple matter, but rather one requiring an understanding of the technical aspects of payment processing and the legal landscape of each market. 

With the proper approach, however, compliance can drive efficiency and scalability, helping businesses prevent manual errors and operational costs by using technology to automate compliance checks and streamline reporting.

“Everything’s going more cross-border and getting regulated, so tax compliance regulation is huge for new business models in new markets,” Sovos CEO Kevin Akeroyd told PYMNTS in an interview in April.

“Compliance has traditionally been a cost center designed to avoid risk and ensure compliance,” he added. “It has not been a force for growth — but now, it’s turning that corner and it really can be a force for growth.”

Meanwhile, PYMNTS recently explored the “double-edged sword” of identity verification in a conversation with Bryan Lewis, CEO of Intellicheck, who stressed the importance of using verification solutions that balance security with ease of use. 

“We work with them [financial institutions] to provide basically frictionless ways for somebody to prove who they are,” Lewis said. 

He pointed to a recent study indicating that 62% of authentication processes require four or more steps, causing substantial drop-off rates. 

“People drop out,” Lewis said. “So we work with them [financial institutions] to figure out how to seamlessly integrate identity validation into their process.”

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The partnership, announced Tuesday (May 28), gives banks and their FinTech clients access to Footprint’s know your customer (KYC) and know your business (KYB) technology.

“Banks increasingly recognize that a robust KYC process is vital for fraud prevention, which includes securing the onboarding process through accurate and seamless identity verification,” said Mark Vermeersh, chief platform officer at Treasury Prime.

“As Treasury Prime continues to double down on a bank-direct approach, we’re constantly listening to and taking action on feedback from our bank partners,” Vermeersh added. “Many banks expressed interest in additional onboarding identity, KYC and KYB options, so we’re proud to deliver on this through our integration with Footprint.”

Aside from the Treasury Prime-Footprint integration, Footprint also offers a library of pre-built user interface components and tools for banks to manage vendor onboarding, the news release said, letting banks and FinTechs scale quickly while upholding a strong focus on compliance.

Speaking with PYMNTS last week, Bryan Lewis, CEO of Intellicheck, argued that it is crucial to adopt identity verification solutions that balance security with ease of use.

“We work with [financial institutions] to provide basically frictionless ways for somebody to prove who they are,” said Lewis, referencing a recent study that showed that 62% of authentication processes require four or more steps, leading to substantial drop-off rates.

“People drop out,” Lewis said. “So we work with [financial institutions] to figure out how to seamlessly integrate identity validation into their process.”

Lewis spotlighted the effectiveness of Intellicheck’s technology, which focuses on determining the authenticity of government-issued IDs.

“Our technology, the core of what we do, is we authenticate that that driver’s license, or state-issued ID, is real,” he said. This level of accuracy is a key differentiator for Intellicheck, earning the trust of 28 state-level law enforcement agencies.

Identity fraud is a pervasive problem impacting millions. Lewis pointed to examples of how easily identities can be stolen and misused.

“The simplest way to steal your identity is I buy it all online,” Lewis said, referring to the dark web, where data thefts like the attack on United Healthcare’s Change Healthcare unit and the recent AT&T breach exposed millions of individuals’ information, his included.

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As Bryan Lewis, CEO of Intellicheck, shared for the “What’s Next In PYMNTS: Payments Modernization” series, it’s critical to adopt identity verification solutions that balance security with ease of use. “We work with them [financial institutions] to provide basically frictionless ways for somebody to prove who they are,” said Lewis. He referenced a recent study indicating that 62% of authentication processes require four or more steps, causing significant drop-off rates. 

“People drop out,” Lewis said. “So we work with them [financial institutions] to figure out how to seamlessly integrate identity validation into their process.”

Lewis highlighted the effectiveness of Intellicheck’s technology, which focuses on verifying the authenticity of government-issued IDs. “Our technology, the core of what we do, is we authenticate that that driver’s license, or state-issued ID, is real,” he said. This level of accuracy is a key differentiator for Intellicheck, earning the trust of 28 state-level law enforcement agencies.

Identity fraud is not just a distant threat but a pervasive issue affecting millions. Lewis cited examples of how easily identities can be stolen and misused. “The simplest way to steal your identity is I buy it all online,” Lewis said, referring to the dark web, where data thefts like the United Healthcare breach and the recent AT&T breach exposed millions of individuals’ information, including his.

Real-World Examples

Lewis illustrated the real-world consequences of identity fraud with a compelling example: “There’s a woman who just had $81,000 moved out of one bank account into an account at a different bank that somebody opened up using identity theft,” he said. “Now she has said she’s moving banks. So the bank has lost the long-term value of that client.” 

Account takeovers are gaining momentum and are startlingly simple in terms of the mechanics of the crimes. It starts with an email address. “And if you’ve got my email address,” Lewis said, “you can change every password I have.” He said account takeovers have been the fastest-growing attack vector in financial services. The FBI recently issued an advisory warning the public about scams targeting the elderly, with billions of dollars of unwitting victims’ money moving to fraudsters’ bank accounts, up 11% from a year ago.

Preparing for Increase in Fraud

To combat these sophisticated fraud methods, Lewis counseled financial services companies to implement multilayered security measures. Lewis advised focusing on the efficacy of the systems used to ensure they are integrated seamlessly into the customer journey. 

“The vast majority of people aren’t crooks. So don’t treat them like crooks to stop that little small percentage that are crooks,” he said. Effective tools can reduce the number of authentication steps required, minimizing customer drop-off rates and enhancing overall user experience.

The impetus to beat the fraudsters has been a tailwind for Intellicheck, which offers identity validation and onboarding services for know-your-customer (KYC) and authentication needs of its clients. The company just reported a record quarter in Q1. As reported by PYMNTS, the company reported a 10% increase in Q1 revenue, reaching $4.68 million, up from $4.25 million in the same period last year. Software-as-a-service (SaaS) revenue also saw a 9% rise to $4.61 million. 

Lewis attributed the growth to heightened demand for robust yet user-friendly identity verification amid escalating identity theft and fraud incidents. The business is growing, with clients coming to Intellicheck across various verticals, though the core business remains tied to banking.

Among other fraud defenses, Intellicheck’s core business involves authenticating driver’s licenses and state-issued IDs, which are crucial for onboarding and authentication. The company validates the minutiae of IDs, down to fonts and other details, thwarting artificial intelligence (AI) and other advanced tools employed by fraudsters. But regardless of the business vertical, Lewis emphasized a few core tenets in authentication: It needs to be frictionless, or the customer will walk away. 

Against that backdrop, he said, it’s imperative that financial institutions be able to authenticate and verify both sides of the transaction and make sure the parties are legitimate — and that they have legitimate motives in moving money as well. 

“If you can be that much more certain of a government-issued ID being real, you can cut the number of steps that that customer has to go through — which leads to less abandonment and happier customers,” he said. “If you make identity validation simple, people won’t mind. If you make it difficult, they’ll go somewhere else.”

The post Intellicheck CEO: Identity Validation Needs Simplicity as Account Takeovers Spike appeared first on PYMNTS.com.

According to a Tuesday (April 16) news release, the addition lets customers access Prove’s commerce enablement, identity verification and identity authentication solutions for faster onboarding, reduced abandonment and lower rates of fraud.

The release noted large levels of discontent among consumers who feel frustrated with ID verification and password authentication solutions, leading them to abandon their online interaction with merchants.

“By working with AWS, Prove is offering companies the opportunity to take back some of this lost revenue while also mitigating identity fraud,” the release said. 

The company said its technology is unique in that it uses people’s mobile phones to verify identities in channels such as mobile, desktop and in-store. Prove’s customers include some of America’s top banks, crypto exchanges, retailers and healthcare firms. 

Prove’s new offerings come at a when when — as PYMNTS wrote earlier this year — authentication methods are evolving to keep up with customer identity verification.

“Authentication is a constantly moving bullet,” Shaunt Sarkissian, founder and CEO of AI-ID, said in an interview with PYMNTS for the series “What’s Next in Payments: Authentication: What’s New and What’s Next?”

“And where the payment starts and stops, and where the authentication begins, is melding into the same process,” Sarkissian said. “… Doing an online transaction is more authentication these days than it is payment.”

As that report also noted, the concept of multifactor authentication has gained prominence, blending together traditional methods with invisible authentication techniques. These invisible methods scrutinize background data without the customer’s knowledge, leading to a more effective and secure authentication process.

“It is no longer just a password with a PIN,” Sarkissian said.

Elsewhere, PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster spoke with Jason Paguandas, vice president and general manager, merchant security and fraud at Carat from Fiserv about some key principles guiding the authentication of payments and commerce.

“Authentication is the moment of truth for a customer,” he said, determining whether a merchant or financial institution (FI) can or will proceed with a transaction — or require more verification from the individual.

The issue is it can only take on bad interaction online to send a consumer to a competitor, after chafing at being prompted to prove themselves again and again, or after a transaction is denied.

“In most cases,” said Paguandas, “anomalous behavior is what causes that step up.”

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Across the United States, the momentum behind mobile driver’s license proposals is gaining significant traction. States, as well as the federal government, are increasingly viewing mobile driver’s licenses (mDLs) as a promising solution to combat fraud and bolster digital ID verification. 

New York, for instance, is gearing up to launch a pilot program for mDLs. Similarly, neighboring New Jersey has passed legislation this year in favor of mobile driver’s licenses and identification cards.

Illinois has also joined the growing trend of embracing mobile driver’s licenses, with Secretary of State Alexi Giannoulias supporting Bill 4592, which proposes allowing individuals to display digital driver’s licenses and identification on their smartphones alongside their physical counterparts.

Furthermore, other states like Tennessee and Georgia are also exploring launching mDL initiatives, signaling a broader trend towards the adoption of mDLs as a reliable form of identification.

At the forefront of this movement toward digital identification are tech giants such as Google and Samsung, which are integrating mobile IDs into users’ digital wallets. Intellicheck CEO Bryan Lewis foresees a future where these digital wallets will serve as the repository for driver’s licenses and other government-issued IDs.

“Eventually digital wallets will be how we all do everything,” Lewis told PYMNTS in a recent interview. “The first time I got a smartphone, I said ‘one day, this thing is going to rule our lives.’”

And if IDs can be securely stored in a format that cannot be hacked, he said it will go a long way toward bringing the fragmented ID landscape together.

Indeed, the appeal of mobile driver’s licenses lies in their potential to revolutionize the way individuals verify their identities. Unlike traditional physical cards, mDLs can be securely stored on smartphones, offering convenience and accessibility. With just a few taps on their devices, users can present their digital IDs for verification purposes, eliminating the need for carrying multiple cards.

Moreover, mDLs are equipped with advanced security features that make them inherently more resistant to fraud and tampering compared to their physical counterparts. Biometric authentication, encryption and remote verification capabilities are some of the key features that bolster the integrity of mobile driver’s licenses, instilling confidence in their reliability. 

As PYMNTS wrote earlier this year, “the interest in digital IDs lies in the potential for digitized identity documents to serve as a critical tool in combating 21st century fraud, while providing a more foolproof and secure way of verifying identities across an ever-more digital landscape. That they can make everyone’s lives a little bit easier is both endemic to their use, and an added benefit.”

However, the widespread adoption of mDLs also raises pertinent questions regarding privacy, cybersecurity and interoperability. For instance, the New York Civil Liberties Union and Surveillance Resistance Lab have opposed the state initiative, calling for a pause on the pilot digital ID plan until thorough public debate or strong legal and technical safeguards have been established. 

“The introduction of mDLs—a largely untested technology and unprecedented data collection program in New York State—has the potential to undermine democratic systems, infringe on personal privacy, compromise equity and civil liberties, and exacerbate mistrust among communities wary of using DMV services,” the New York Civil Liberties Union said in a January letter addressed to New York DMV Commissioner Mark Schroeder. 

Despite these challenges, the momentum behind mobile driver’s licenses continues to grow, fueled by the prospect of a more seamless and secure identification ecosystem. As states like New York, New Jersey and Illinois take steps toward embracing this digital transformation, other jurisdictions are likely to follow suit in the coming years.

In conclusion, the emergence of mobile driver’s licenses, harnessing smartphone capabilities and integrating with digital wallet technologies, marks a transformative shift in identity verification. As this evolution progresses, striking a balance between innovation and protecting individuals’ privacy and security will be crucial to ensuring widespread adoption. 

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