Over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, the adoption and usage of digital channels for financial activities has become a significant part of our day to day lives. Many users have had to rely on these channels for purchasing goods and services, telecommuting, online banking operations, and even communications with family and friends.
Significant changes in end user behavior at such a large scale over a short period of time have, of course, created new challenges for businesses, such as dealing with a greater number of increasingly sophisticated identity fraud cyber attacks, and adequately managing the digital identity lifecycle throughout the customer experience.
These challenges were the themes of focus during the latest edition of Mitek Red Point in Spain, an event where attendees were able to engage in live debate with experts from various sectors relating to the future of the global digital identity market and the role of biometrics in the customer life cycle. Below are the top 13 identity verification trends for 2022 identified by experts.
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The concept of digital id is now part of our daily lives. It is more important than ever nowadays that technology allows the user to identify themselves and demonstrate who they are in a reliable way.
- The scope of what digital identity entails has changed. A digital user is no longer just a number, but rather, a complex set of attributes that allows them to be unequivocally identified, such as their activity on networks or biometric characteristics.
- Companies are changing the way they view and manage digital identities. It is no longer a mere functionality that depends on departments such as IT, but rather involves all areas of the company in a strategic way.
- There is still a gap between legislation and technology. Stringent regulations are not advancing fast enough to cover all the areas impacted by technology. There has been progress in terms of protecting user information, but little consideration is taken into creating an optimal user experience that complies with digital payment processing regulations.
- People want more transparency and security. Users are willing to provide their personal data during identity authentication, but under the expectation that it will be managed appropriately. They want to know what it is going to be used for, why it is being requested, and what security measures the company has in place to protect it.
- Investments into technologies supporting the decentralization of information will grow significantly. Technologies like blockchain are expected to grow up to 60% by 2025. However, the current challenge is that governments see decentralization as an opportunity, not as a threat.
- The lack of trust in digital identity verification continues to be a widespread problem. From users and companies, to governments and public administrations, there is still a large majority of users who are skeptical of the ability of organizations to keep digital identities safe and secure. In addition, the verification process is often perceived as more of a nuisance than a necessity to ensure the security of the data or the transaction itself.
- People are more willing to accept friction in the user experience if they know why it’s being required. It is easier for a user to accept a certain amount of friction in the registration or purchase process if they know why they are being asked for certain types of information or actions to be taken, such as taking a selfie. A certain level of friction provides perceived security, but it is essential to balance it well so that it does not harm the experience. Therefore, it is necessary to determine how much friction to apply to each type of process or operation.
- It is still essential to educate the user regarding best practices for online identity verification. Users need to understand how to reduce their risks from being attacked by fraudsters so that they are co-responsible for security. Many people continue to be unaware of the risks involved in publishing certain information on, for example, social networks. Even so, the use of digital channels and the risks to which they are exposed varies according to the age group (millennials, baby boomers, generation X, etc.).
- People will adopt new technologies, such as blockchain, if they are stable and trustworthy. To this end, the role of both governments and companies will be key to regulating these technologies, making good use of them, and being transparent with the processing of information. It is key to understand the technology before using it and regulating how it is used and who has access to it.
- Technological advances, especially in machine learning and artificial intelligence, allow us to improve digital security. However, at the same time, they also give way to increasingly sophisticated fraud and crimes, such as deep fakes.
- Verified identity by username and password is currently a very insecure method to validate the user. More advanced technologies, such as two-factor authentication or facial or voice biometrics, are required to uniquely identify the person on the other end of the screen.
- Biometric technologies such as facial recognition are and will be key to the adoption of digital id verification solutions. In fact, 70% of organizations consider biometric recognition to be the most secure digital identification solution. Among these technologies, multimodal biometrics, i.e. combining two or more biometric factors in the verification process, is emerging as the option with the most potential.
Verification trends will of course continue to evolve, expand and change, but by understanding what the voices on-the-ground in the industry are saying, you can stay ahead of the curve and pivot and adapt in real time alongside them.
To learn more about what experts have to say about each of the mentioned trends