The pandemic has hindered the way retail spaces, such as banks, carry out normal operations. Many have turned to new innovations within biometric technology that can improve their ability to provide services. These technologies have specifically increased the efficiency of customer onboarding and employee onboarding.
Many banks are now generating lower revenue, with declines as high as 70% from the previous year because of the uncertainty of the pandemic. Many have been forced to lay off staff and permanently close branches. Those that stay open are adopting new technologies and re-evaluating just about every aspect of their day-to-day operations— including the services they provide, layouts of their branches, and how they verify customers and employees.
Even prior to the pandemic, banks were experiencing rapid change. Customer expectations, challenger banks, new technology, and evolving regulations have sped up the digital transformation of banking. By implementing a digital identity solution, banks can not only balance risk and convenience but prepare themselves for the future.
Utilizing Biometrics
Every individual on earth, for example, has a unique set of fingerprints, unique hand geometry, and a unique face. Biometric identity verification systems examine these and other biometric identifiers to identify individuals. These systems improve security, speed up the verification process, and deter cybercriminals.
In this socially-distance economy that we live in, cyber attacks are becoming more prevalent and more sophisticated. Fake identities or mash-up identities, which take a combination of real and fake data to build a persona, are on the rise — forcing technology to catch up. Almost half of U.S. consumers have experienced identity theft in the last two years, more than a third (37 percent) have experienced application fraud, and 38 percent have been victimized by an account takeover attack, according to new research from Aite Group.
But it’s not always easy to implement these new protections. Banks have strict compliance standards they must meet for onboarding and managing customer information, which can make finding a one-size-fits-all approach nearly impossible. But necessary. They need solutions that comply with digital privacy guidelines and updated financial regulations without making the onboarding experience too difficult or time-consuming. Luckily, consumers from around the world are less wary of the new technology, which makes its adoption much easier.
Here are some unexpected ways in which a biometric identity solution will not only solve today’s issues but prepare for the future:
Customer Onboarding
Biometrics is the most reliable way of authenticating identities and is the one method that is most resistant to counterfeiting and spoofing. Banks know this — they were among the first industries to pilot biometrics. They’re beginning to use facial biometrics as multi-factor authentication (MFA) because facial recognition does not require customers to be physically present at a branch — like fingerprint scanners, palm scanners, and iris scanners do. Banks are incorporating multiple types of biometrics into their day-to-day operations. Wells Fargo, for example, is using Eyeprint Authentication. Citi is using Voice Authentication. Bank of America is using Fingerprint Authentication, Iris-Scanning and App Linking. Barclays is using Finger Vein Reader Technology. The Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest are using Biometric Payments. Chase, HSBC, and USAA are using Apple’s FaceID to allow customers to log in to their mobile banking apps.
Banks are discovering that they can use facial biometric verification from the time a new account is opened, and continue using it for future functions. This asks less of the customer, alleviating the pressure to remember a PIN or token. Deploying biometrics across banking platforms makes transactions more secure and overall increases security across all access control points. Plus it reduced overhead and boosts operational efficiency, all while making the experience easier for the customer.
For financial institutions, the KYC onboarding process is not just about managing risk, but compliance with Anti-Money Laundering Laws (AML) and the US Patriot Act’s Customer Identification Program (CIP) provision. Over 50 large financial institutions around the world
use IDmission for onboarding, ID proofing, Identity verification, and eKYC. Our software Onboarding enables end-users to sign up for a service from anywhere, at any time, using any device of their choice. Delivered as a mobile and web solution, OnBo seamlessly integrates IDmission’s ID proofing, Identity verification, and eKYC services to create highly secure and yet easy-to-use digital onboarding. It’s a comprehensive platform that can capture signatures, videos, and documents. It’s a truly multilingual, omnichannel application that doesn’t require additional code and integrates with third-party apps.
Employee Onboarding
With so many employees working remotely because of the pandemic, securing the employee onboarding process is just as important. Employee security breaches are a huge concern for all large organizations, not just banking. By having a biometric employee onboarding process similar to customer onboarding, banks are afforded an extra layer of security.
IDmission’s solution automates all of the key processes required to hire and onboard new employees. Our end-to-end solution starts with the hiring process, right from your prospective employee's home. This software will walk new employees through a six-step process: ID collection, identity proofing, application, doc collection, background check, and system integration. Every step of the way, all the information can be accessed by employees on their smartphones or computers. IDmission's onboarding process is efficient and reduces paperwork along the way, making it quick and easy to get an employee fully integrated.
Employee-owned smartphones are loaded with a mobile app that conducts their initial enrollment into your business. The app is capable of scanning ID documents, extracting data from them automatically, capturing a selfie while ensuring that a subject is a live person (no printouts, videos, masks, etc.). The selfie is matched against the ID photo automatically. The employee record is sent to the signing authority for approval using a web portal. Not only does it make the process easier, but it also gives employers more control when it comes to employee access and reduces the need to share IDs, key cards, or PINS.
An Increasingly Digital Workplace
Before the COVID-19 pandemic, retail banks and credit unions used heavily manual onboarding processes that required customers and employees to be in person. This clumsy process was time-consuming for banks and customers alike. Collecting identity information can be laborious and waiting for the information to be verified can take even longer. With biometrics, this entire process is now being conducted online. Banks are using biometric authentication technology to eliminate this manual identity-verification process.
Banks are using technology like IDmission’s Artificial Intelligence Character Recognition, for example, to easily capture the required data to complete a thorough identity check in one fluid process. Using this solution, all it takes is a photo from your mobile device to verify Driver's License, Passport, Residence Card, Voter ID, Tax ID, Work or Student Visa, Non-Government ID Card, and Student ID. This proprietary technology uses a complex AI engine to determine the document type, its authenticity, and extract necessary field data.
Online onboarding verifies identities by comparing the photo on an ID to a passive liveness-based selfie. It then extracts data from a utility bill and compares that to the ID. With this data compared and completed, financial institutions eliminate 100% of their pre-pandemic manual processes. This improves the user experience and reduces abandonment rates. Plus it can all be done without social distancing, hand washing, temperature taking, or contact tracing.
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