How to Verify an Identity Card: Here’s Our Tips

Security and reliability are fundamental in all transactions and processes, especially when it comes to individual identification. Identity document verification has become a crucial component across numerous sectors, including financial services, e-commerce, and healthcare.

Ensuring the authenticity of an individual’s identity is vital to preventing fraud, safeguarding privacy, and adhering to legal regulations. In this article, we will explore what identity document verification entails and how technological advancements, such as biometrics and artificial intelligence, are transforming this process effectively and securely.

What is identity document verification?

As we’ve mentioned, with the rise of online transactions, validating your identity quickly and securely has become an essential need. What does this mean? It essentially involves confirming that your ID or passport is authentic and truly belongs to you.

Think of it like a nightclub bouncer checking your ID before letting you in. Their job is to ensure the document is yours and not someone else’s. In the digital age, verifying your identity not only protects against fraud and unauthorized access but also enables you to access a wide range of online services—from banking operations to public and private services.

With advanced solutions like those we offer at Silt, this process has become simpler and more secure. How? We leverage cutting-edge technologies to ensure reliability and safety at every step of the verification process.

Identity verification is crucial to ensuring the security of online transactions and preventing fraud. In the past, this process was slow and costly, requiring users to physically meet with an agent to verify their identity. However, thanks to technological advances, it is now possible to verify a person’s identity remotely and securely. This not only saves businesses time and money but also provides a faster and more convenient experience for users.

What are the best methods for verifying an identity document?

OCR

OCR technology scans and automatically converts images of text into editable digital text. For identity verification, OCR is used to extract critical information from identity documents, such as name, ID number, and date of birth. This enables fast and accurate validation of document details.

Facial biometrics

Facial biometrics is an advanced method that matches a person’s facial features with the photograph on their identity document. This technology uses algorithms to analyze and recognize unique facial patterns, streamlining online authentication and providing an extra layer of security. Facial biometrics are widely used for various applications, from unlocking smartphones to accessing online banking services.

Document validation

Document validation verifies the authenticity of an identity document to ensure it is not fake or altered. This involves examining the document’s security features, such as holograms or watermarks. A common example is passport verification at airports, where documents are thoroughly checked to ensure their legitimacy and prevent fraud.

How can identity documents be verified?

Verification of an identity document can be conducted through various methods, as outlined below:

Step 1: Display the ID Front and Back

In a video identification process, the user holds their ID card up to the camera, showing both the front and back. This basic method ensures that the document’s security features, as well as all visual data and characteristics, align with official standards.

Step 2: Perform a Liveness Test

The liveness test is crucial to confirm the physical presence of the individual being verified. This is achieved by asking the user to perform specific gestures or movements during the video session, such as blinking or turning their head, to prove they are alive and present.

Step 3: Wait for Real-Time Validation

In the final step, either a human operator or an automated system meticulously reviews all the provided information and evidence to ensure the process’s authenticity and security.

In the case of Silt, our IDaaS (Identity-as-a-Service) technology enables user identity verification in less than 5 seconds. Users only need to complete the verification process and capture images of their documents once. Afterward, they can reuse their verified digital identity to access any application integrated with Silt, simply by granting permissions. This approach streamlines the process, ensuring a smoother and more secure experience for users.

Regulations and standards for online identity verification

The regulation of online identity verification is governed by frameworks like AML5 and eIDAS, which establish standards and procedures to ensure security and reliability in the process.

AML5 (the Fifth Anti-Money Laundering Directive) focuses on combating fraud, identity falsification, money laundering, and terrorist financing. Meanwhile, eIDAS regulates electronic signatures, trust services, and requirements for secure electronic transactions.

These European-origin regulations are stringent and comprehensive, providing a solid foundation of trust for online identity verification processes that comply with them. They are considered the international benchmark for digital identity verification in remote environments, ensuring the integrity and authenticity of online identification processes.

Benefits of verifying identity documents with biometrics and Artificial Intelligence

The application of biometrics and artificial intelligence in verifying identity documents has introduced several significant benefits for both organizations and users:

• Fully Online Services: With AI, identity verification services can operate beyond geographical and time constraints. This allows people to access critical services from anywhere—be it their home, vacation spot, or business trip. For instance, a bank can implement a fully online identity verification system for account opening, enabling customers to complete the process anytime and anywhere.

• Reaching More Users: AI enhances security by identifying anomalies and fraud patterns that might go unnoticed by humans. This enables government services to reach people in remote areas, simplifying registration for assistance programs and ensuring that those in need gain access to essential services.

• Preventing Online Fraud: In e-commerce, AI-powered identity verification can prevent fraudulent credit card use by cross-referencing ID information with cardholder details. This increases transaction security, protecting merchants and consumers alike.

• Cost and Time Savings: AI-driven automation reduces the need for human intervention in the verification process, significantly lowering operational costs for businesses and organizations. By minimizing human error and streamlining procedures, both companies and users save time.

Advantages for the end customer

The online identity validation process is essential for verifying user identity, providing robust security in various critical scenarios:

• Banking and Finance: Used for opening bank accounts and conducting financial transactions, including online purchases. Online ID verification ensures secure banking operations, protecting users from potential fraud and ensuring transaction authenticity.

• Telecommunications and Insurance: Applied when contracting products and services or managing operations in telecommunications and insurance sectors. It ensures users are who they claim to be, preventing fraud and protecting the integrity of commercial transactions.

• Applications and Platforms: Utilized in login processes for websites and apps as a second authentication factor. It also facilitates access to venues, tourism check-ins, and customer registration on different platforms. Online ID verification guarantees user security and privacy, safeguarding accounts and personal data from unauthorized access.

• Government and Administration: Used for renewing or issuing electronic certificates, IDs, or performing identification processes in government portals or health-related applications. Online ID verification in these cases ensures the authenticity and validity of documents issued by authorities, preserving the integrity of administrative and medical processes.

Online ID verification offers a range of significant benefits for end-users, simplifying and securing daily processes. Here are some key advantages:

1. Ease of Access: Users can access a wide array of services from anywhere without needing to visit physical offices, making everyday tasks more convenient.
2. Variety of Services: Online ID verification broadens the scope of available services, removing geographical or time restrictions.
3. Data Control: Users have greater autonomy and control over their personal information, deciding when and how to share it, which enhances trust and security.
4. Process Speed: Online verification dramatically reduces registration and validation times compared to traditional methods, allowing tasks to be completed in minutes rather than days or weeks.
5. Eliminates Travel: There’s no need to visit physical locations for tasks like opening a bank account; everything can be handled from home with an internet-connected device.

How can Silt help you?

Are you ready to simplify your identity verification processes and provide your users with a safer and more convenient experience? Silt is here to help!

With our advanced identity verification technology, you can:

• Minimize friction during registration and verification.
• Provide a 100% online service, eliminating the need for physical interactions.
• Verify over 12,000 document types from 200 countries.
• Expand your reach to more users anytime, anywhere.
• Ensure security and authenticity across all transactions and operations.

Try Silt’s services for free today and take your identity verification processes to the next level! Contact us for more information and see how we can simplify and enhance your online operations.