If the pandemic taught the general public anything, it is that all of us are perfectly capable of carrying out our daily business from home. Work, doctors’ visits and that trip to the store or bank have been replaced by their online, digital counterparts. It takes a smartphone and connections to the Internet, of course. It also greatly benefits from a single, one-time activity that streamlines the annoying processes that slow people down when they log into an app or web site, have to provide proof of age or citizenship or check out by authorizing a payment from a selected card or account.

That single action goes by many names; most commonly carrying the unimpressive epithet of “Digital Onboarding” or “Remote Identity Proofing.” As dry as DO or RIP sound, they are the crucial first step for a business or service provider to establish a life-long, trusted relationship with a new client or customer.

This concept is not lost on the giants of digital commerce and technology. Apple Computer is the envy of the digital commerce world, in part, because of the deft way that it gets new owners of iPhones, iPads or Macs to provide fingerprints, facial scans and, in some cases, voice samples as part of the device activation process. Owners also need an AppleID to purchase and download software for their computers and apps or streamed entertainment for their smartphones or tablets. Activating a populating a “Wallet” app with selected credit cards and debit cards is part of the process as well. This, in turn, is linked to ApplePay, which cements the relationship between an individual’s online and offline activities when they are at the check-out machine in a retail store.

Other than ApplePay, however, Apple’s operates a closed-end system linked to its cloud storage, appStore and various streaming services. Financial services companies, retailers, healthcare providers and insurance companies, to name a few, would likewise benefit from a way to identify and authenticate their clients, patients or customers one time at the outset of a relationship. Unlike Apple, they are challenged by the need to support a multiplicity of devices, claimed identities (not just an AppleID), payment methods and authentication modalities. Often, account initiation requires customers to provide a current driver’s license or passport as proof of identity. It is also routine to ask for other government issued documents, such as a birth certificate or Social Security Card (in the U.S.) or “proof of insurance” cards in order to initiate a transaction.

If you think that “No Shirts, No Shoes, No Service!” is harsh, at least it can be put on a placard. To carry out digital commerce, both online and in the Real World, carries a list of pre-requisite documentation that is both time-consuming and, in some cases, prohibitive. Well-designed Remote ID Proofing practices and procedures eliminate such friction.

To learn more, join me and Derek Top, Research Director at Opus Research, on July 28 as we flesh out the details of effective Digital Onboarding and Remote ID Proofing with Conor White, President, and Jason Belonchik, Head of Solutions Technology at Daon Americas.

You can register here:

Webinar: Digital Onboarding – The Gateway to Secure Remote Commerce

Categories: Intelligent Authentication, Articles