Digital Identity Verification: Types, Challenges, and Solutions in 2024

As activities like banking, shopping, and accessing government services increasingly shift online, verifying people’s identities digitally has become crucial. Digital identity verification refers to using technology to confirm that someone is who they claim to be when interacting on digital channels. It allows organizations and businesses to reduce fraud, manage risk, and secure sensitive user data in digital transactions.

What is Digital Identity Verification? 

Digital identity verification, also known as online identity verification or user identity verification, allows organizations to validate customer identities remotely using computer-based methods. It relies on techniques like document verification, biometric authentication, and liveness checks instead of in-person ID checks. Leading identity verification solutions leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyze thousands of ID data points and corroborate identities against secure government and internal databases.

How Does the Identity Verification Process Work?

Identity verification services use different combinations of the following methods to authenticate user identities digitally:

1. Identity Document Verification: Customers upload images of their government-issued photo ID, such as driver’s licenses or passports. Data extraction technology reads the embedded identity details, matched against public and proprietary databases.

2. Facial Recognition: User selfies are compared algorithmically against the photo on their ID for similarity mapping with liveness checks.

3. Knowledge-Based Authentication (KBA): Users answer quiz questions based on public or credit-based data trails to prove identity ownership.

4. 2-Factor Authentication (2FA): One-time codes are sent via SMS or email for access confirmation after initial ID verification.

5. Biometrics: Fingerprint, iris, or facial geometry scans get validated against existing records for ongoing digital identity authentication.

6. Liveness Detection: This method combats deepfakes and impersonation by verifying you're a real person, not a pre-recorded video or image. Techniques like head movements, blinking, or specific challenges ensure your real-time presence.
   

7. Behavioral Analysis: Analyzing your typing patterns, mouse movements, and even how you navigate a website can create a unique behavioral profile. While still in its early stages, this method holds the potential for continuous and unobtrusive verification.
   

8. Social Logins: Utilizing social media accounts like Facebook or Google for verification leverages existing trust relationships. However, concerns about data sharing and potential privacy risks need consideration.
   

9. Digital Identity Wallets: Emerging technologies like self-sovereign identity (SSI) and decentralized identity (DIDs) allow individuals to control and share their identity data selectively from their digital wallet with different platforms. This offers greater user control and potentially eliminates the need for centralized databases.

Types of Identity Verification Methods

Digital identity verification solutions use both passive and active authentication methods:

1. Passive Verification

Refers to methods that verify identity details against external databases without requiring additional user action.

For instance, when a user submits an ID document, information such as their name, date of birth, and address is cross-referenced in the background with data sources like credit bureau records, voter rolls, and watchlists without the user needing to participate actively.

2. Active Verification

Requires the user to perform some kind of action to confirm identity ownership.

Examples include:

• Knowledge-based authentication quizzes
• Entering codes sent to the user's phone/email (2FA)
• Recording a selfie video reading out phrases (biometric liveness check)
• Submitting a live fingerprint scan

It adds more friction but strengthens verification through user participation

In summary:

Passive = background checking without user participation

Active = user actively proves identity through actions

3. Layered Verification

• Combines both passive and active verification methods for more robust identity-proofing
• A layered approach typically involves
  • Initial passive verification against external databases to weed out fraudulent identities
  • Followed by active challenges that require user participation to validate identity authenticity further
• Examples include:
  • Passive check of submitted ID details against government records
  • Active challenge through knowledge-based authentication quizzes
  • The final step is having the user upload a biometric digital identity authentication factor like a liveness check video or fingerprint scan.
• The layered approach allows platforms to thoroughly screen identities with minimal friction by blending passive data checks that users don't actively participate in with active challenges that require users to prove identity ownership.
• It makes spoofing more complex compared to relying on passive or active alone.

Where is Identity Verification Applied? 

Stringent Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-money Laundering (AML) regulations make digital identification verification imperative for:

• Financial services customer onboarding 
• Cryptocurrency exchanges
• Online gaming and gambling 
• Buy-now pay-later platforms 
• Healthcare portals 
• Government agencies

Financial Services

• Onboarding new customers for banks, lenders, and fintech apps
• Trading platforms and cryptocurrency exchanges
• Electronic payment systems like PayPal, Stripe
• Peer-to-peer payment apps
• Insurance providers
• Investment brokerage accounts

Online Gambling

• Sports betting
• Online casinos
• Fantasy sports
• Poker

Retail and E-commerce

• Buy-now pay-later platforms like Klarna, Affirm
• Online marketplaces like Amazon, eBay
• Delivery apps like UberEats, DoorDash
• Ridesharing platforms like Uber, Lyft
• Vacation rental sites like Airbnb, VRBO

Social Media

• Dating apps like Tinder, Bumble, Grindr
• Community platforms like Reddit, Quora
• Gaming sites like Roblox, Twitch

Business Services

• Payment processors like PayPal, Stripe
• Remote access portals
• CRM and communication tools like Salesforce, Slack
• Cloud storage like Dropbox, Google Drive

Cryptocurrency

• Centralized exchanges like Coinbase
• Decentralized exchanges and wallets
• Over-the-counter crypto traders
• Non-fungible token (NFT) marketplaces

Healthcare

• Telehealth platforms
• Medical insurance eligibility checks
• Pharmacy benefit apps
• HIPAA compliance

Education

• Online schools and universities
• Exam proctoring services
• Library access

Government

• Tax agencies
• Welfare and benefits programs
• Digital ID frameworks

Sharing Economy

• Ridesharing like Uber, Lyft
• Property rentals like Airbnb
• Peer-to-peer payments like Venmo
• Crowdfunding platforms

Sharing economy sectors like ridesharing, vacation rentals, and peer-to-peer lending rely on digital ID verification to build trust and safety.

Challenges with Traditional Verification

As digital engagement increases exponentially across sectors, traditional manual ID checks have proven inadequate for onboarding and supporting customers remotely:

Difficult to Scale

• In-person verification cannot scale with growing digital engagement across geographies
• Resource intensive to physically validate government IDs
• Limits total addressable market for digital-first businesses

Fraud Risk

• Greater chance of human oversight and document tampering
• Difficult to detect the use of fake IDs and manipulated documents
• Limits access to additional info to verify identity ownership
• Easier for synthetic identities and identity spoofing

Slow Process

• Manual checks eat up valuable resources and staff time
• Delays account opening and restricts revenue
• This means high abandonment rates during onboarding flows

Geographical Restrictions

• Cannot verify customer identities across state or country borders
• Prevents access to global markets for both digital and incumbent players

Poor User Experience

• Physically mailing copies of documents sets high friction
• Customers expect fast, mobile-friendly digital onboarding
• Drop is directly proportional to the number of onboarding steps

The lack of automation, intelligent analytics, and digitized workflows make legacy identity checks ill-equipped to tackle rising digital identity fraud as more sectors onboard and serve customers online.

Benefits of Digital Identity Verification

AI-powered digital verification solutions solve the problems of traditional ID checks by providing:

• Secure encrypted flows 
• Real-time approvals
• 99.9% accuracy 
• Omnichannel deployment 
• Seamless user experience 
• Audit trails for compliance 
• Fraud loss prevention

Secure Encrypted Flows

• Customer data and documentation are protected by encryption
• Integrates with secure data transfer protocols
• Reduces vulnerability from data breaches

Real-Time Approvals

• Automated decision in under a minute
• Enables instant account opening 24/7
• Boosts conversion rates and revenue capture

Over 99% Accuracy

• Analyzes thousands of identity data points
• Leverages AI/ML behind the scenes
• Mitigates both false positives and false negatives

Omnichannel Deployment

• Embeddable API integrates across websites, apps, call centers
• Supports in-person applications via mobile devices
• Authentication supports customers; however, they engage

Optimized User Experience

• Guided declarative flows for customer self-serve
• Machine learning prefills data for fast flows
• Liveness checks prevent spoofing quickly

Comprehensive Audit Trails

• All digital ID verification attempts are recorded
• Supports data subject access requests
• Ensures compliance-ready reporting

Fraud Loss Prevention

• Detects synthetic identities instantly
• Confirms document validity in real-time
• Ongoing/step-up authentication ensures verified status

Together, this accelerates onboarding, maximizes approvals, provides superior CX, and blocks fraudsters - driving growth and trust across digital engagement channels.

Digital Identity Verification Solutions

Global digital identity verification market revenue is expected to grow from $9.5 billion in 2022 to $18.6 billion by 2027, with a CAGR of 14.4%. Financial services dominate adoption, but industries like travel, real estate, e-commerce, healthcare, education, and more are rapidly integrating identity proofing to engage users safely while mitigating fraud risks.

Leading identity verification providers offer customizable platforms with document verification, facial recognition, liveness detection, and biometric screening tools to scale remote onboarding.

Examples of Leading Solutions

Focal.ai is an award-winning, AI-driven identity verification solution serving global enterprises.

Key capabilities include:

• Features of Identity verification:some text
  • National ID Verification
  • Commercial registration check
  • IBAN verification
  • Adress verification
• Integrates with any data source via APIs
• Step-up authentication and adaptive workflows
• Real-time international coverage

Conclusion 

As digital engagement increases across industries, establishing user identity digitally is crucial for trust and safety. AI-powered digital verification solutions provide the layered defense needed to thwart identity fraud in remote interactions. Their ease of implementation, accuracy, omnichannel nature, and real-time approvals accelerate digital transformation for organizations. Robust digital identity proofing maximizes revenue by speeding up valid conversions while blocking fraudsters.

FAQs

Q1. What can organizations use digital identity verification for?

Beyond customer onboarding, organizations can leverage digital identity verification for age verification, checking credentials for job applicants, controlling physical access to buildings, and external partners accessing sensitive systems. It has many applications across business, government, and institutional contexts.

Q2. How do digital identity verification solutions protect privacy?

Leading solutions employ bank-grade encryption for data flows and documents. They follow zero-knowledge principles, so identity details are confirmed against third-party records without exposing underlying personal information. Verifiers only surface red flags for review instead of revealing actual watchlist entries or specific reasons for rejection.

Q3. What are liveness checks, and why do they matter?

Liveness checks challenge users in real time when uploading selfies to match IDs. This proves the presence of a live human face instead of someone spoofing a system with pre-recorded biometric samples or images. Liveness detection is crucial to stopping completely digital identity theft attempts and verifying real versus synthetic identities.

Q4. Does digital identity verification require credit checks?

It depends on the solution. Some provide optional integration with credit bureau data to authenticate identities as part of KBA quizzes. However, soft credit checks without score impacts determine identity ownership rather than assessing financial risk. Users concerned about credit hits can turn off credit-based questions without affecting the overall accuracy.

Q5. What is virtual identity verification?

Virtual identity verification allows people to validate their identity online through a live video chat with a trained human agent instead of uploading documents. The agent guides the user by showing their ID to the camera, answering questions, and using other prompts to confirm that the person matches the claimed identity. It provides an interactive human-augmented approach, which can be challenging to scale compared to automated verification methods.