Understanding the Customer Identity Verification Process

The math is simple. Onboarding more customers = more revenue. But what if it turns out that the customer is an imposter? Your business could be in serious trouble – financially and legally. So, what do you do?

This is where digital identity verification comes in as a vital safeguard. It helps banks, financial institutions, and other businesses in customer identity verification and mitigates the risk of identity theft, money laundering, and other illegal activities.

What is the customer verification process?

Customer identity verification is a process that verifies the identity of an individual or entity attempting to access a product or service. It is used to authenticate the customer’s identity and ensure that they are the same person they claim to be.

Related read: What is identity proofing?

The process involves collecting personal information and cross-checking it against trusted sources. Some common sources include government databases or credit bureaus.

1. Data collection

The first step of customer identity verification is data collection. This involves collecting personally identifiable information (PII) from the customer. For example, their name, date of birth, and government-issued identity documents like AADHAR, driver’s license, or PAN card.

2. Data validation

Once the data is collected, it is then validated. This helps ensure its accuracy and authenticity using various methods. This may involve cross-checking the information against other data sources or using advanced technology such as artificial intelligence, biometric analysis, and computer vision, to name a few.

3. ID verification

The next step is the actual identity verification process. This may involve asking security questions, comparing ID photos to the customer’s live image, or verifying a customer’s phone number or email address.

4. Risk assessment

After verifying the user’s identity, a risk assessment is conducted. This helps determine if the customer poses any potential risk to the business. This may include screening for fraudulent activity, sanctions lists, or politically exposed persons (PEPs).

Know more: AML Compliance with HyperVerge

5. Decisioning

The last step is decisioning. Here, the business decides whether to approve, deny or escalate the verification process. This decision is based on the results of all previous steps and any risk factors that have been identified.

Also read: What is customer due diligence (CDD) in KYC?

Customer verification methods

There are a variety of verification methods used for customer identity verification, each with its own level of effectiveness and security. These verification methods include:

Multi-factor authentication

This method requires customers to provide multiple forms of identification, such as a combination of passwords, security questions, biometric data, or a one-time password sent to their phone or email. Two-factor authentication (2FA) is a common example of this method.

Read more about multi-factor authentication here.

Document verification

This method involves verifying the authenticity of official identity documents provided by the customer, such as government-issued IDs or passport verification. This can be done manually or through automated technology.

Read more about document verification here.

Age verification

Age verification is used to ensure that the customer’s age meets a minimum requirement for certain products or services. This can be done through methods such as ID scanning or asking for date of birth.

Read more about age verification here.

Biometric verification

Biometric verification uses unique physical characteristics of an individual, such as fingerprints, voice recognition, or facial recognition, to verify their identity. This method is becoming increasingly popular due to its high level of accuracy and convenience.

Read more about biometric verification here.

Watchlist screening

This identity authentication process involves checking the customer against various watchlists, such as sanctions lists or fraud databases. This helps identify any potential risks or red flags associated with their identity.

Knowledge-based authentication (KBA)

This method requires customers to answer a series of personal questions based on their credit history or other data that only they would know. This can be used as an additional layer of verification in combination with other verification methods.

Importance of online identity verification

With the increasing number of online transactions and interactions, verifying a person’s identity with electronic identity verification has become more important than ever. Some of the key reasons why customer verification is necessary are:

• Identity Fraud Prevention: Customer verification helps businesses protect themselves and their customers from identity fraud.
• Meeting Regulatory Requirements: Many industries have strict regulations in place to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing. Customer verification is a necessary part of ensuring regulatory compliance.
• Protecting Personal Information: Businesses can protect sensitive personal information from being accessed or misused by unauthorized individuals.
• Building Trust: By verifying the identity of customers, businesses can establish trust and credibility with their customers.
• Ensuring a Smooth User Experience: Customer identity verification can help enhance the user’s experience by preventing delays and errors.

Customer verification best practices

To ensure a successful and efficient customer verification process, businesses should implement the following best practices:

Ensure a good user experience and remove friction

Making the customer verification process as seamless and user-friendly as possible should be a priority for businesses. This can include implementing identity verification methods like online authentication, which allows customers to verify their identity quickly and easily.

Conduct risk monitoring and business verification

In addition to verifying the identity of customers, businesses should also conduct risk monitoring and business verification to ensure they are not engaging in any illicit or high-risk activities. This can help mitigate potential risks for both the business and its customers.

Embrace a holistic approach to customer verification

Adopting a holistic approach to verify customers is highly advantageous. By utilizing comprehensive solutions like an identity verification platform that encompasses multiple aspects of verification, businesses can streamline the process and make it more efficient.

Conclusion

With the rise of digital transactions and remote interactions, customer verification has become more important than ever in maintaining trust and security in business operations. As technology continues to advance, businesses must stay updated and adapt their verification processes to keep up with customer expectations and evolving security threats.

Never compromise on your business’s security and trustworthiness. It’s time to step up your customer identity verification process with HyperVerge. HyperVerge’s AI-powered digital identity verification solution is meticulously designed to simplify and enhance the verification process. This ensures a seamless user experience while significantly reducing the risk of fraud.

Key features such as advanced biometric authentication, ID document verification, and innovative liveness detection take your online verification to the next level. Don’t just adjust to the digital age, thrive in it with HyperVerge.

Ready to usher your business into the future of customer identity verification? Sign up with HyperVerge today and experience a streamlined, secure, and sophisticated verification process.