Simplify 'Know Your Customer' (KYC) Compliance With Mobile ID

For any financial services firm, making certain the customer is who they say they are is mandatory for both obvious and regulatory reasons. Without that certainty, the potential for fraud, other crimes, and damage to the institution is off the charts. But how, in this mobile, all-digital world, can you quickly and accurately verify identity with the lowest possible error rate? The right tools and automation exist, and you may be surprised by how simple they are for your customers and prospects to use.

Banking Know Your Customer (KYC) regulations require capturing either a driver’s license issued in the state where the bank is located or another identification document, like a passport or college photo id card, coupled with other instruments establishing details like proof of residence. Collecting and verifying those documents can be simple when the customer opens an account in the branch, assuming they were aware of the requirements when they walked in.

But what about the digital realm? Today’s consumer expects the ability to open accounts using their mobile device. Simple pictures of identity documents are a start, but they alone, in no way, ensure the individual is who they say they are. 

Important Questions to Answer About the Documents:

• Are the captured pictures readable and of acceptable quality?
• Is the document valid – Is it a “fake” id?
• Do the details on the document match the individual?
  

Tungsten Automation (formerly Kofax) Mobile ID intelligent software answers all the questions. First, it guides customers through capturing documents in a way that delivers high-quality images and accurately extracted data.

Next, it uses simple mechanisms like comparing data extracted from bar codes and scan lines with extracted text data, and advanced forensic mechanisms to develop confidence that the document has not been digitally altered or otherwise tampered with.

Finally, Mobile ID can compare the photo on the identification document with a “selfie” and establish confidence that the two photos match. Just as driver’s licenses are changing to meet requirements like the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s Real ID initiative, the broader identification ecosystem is adding more digital features to ID documents.

United States passports started including electronically readable “chips” in 2007. Other government entities around the world are adding similar chips to ID cards. Tungsten Mobile ID can now use a customer’s mobile device to interrogate the chip and use that data to further confirm the document’s validity.

There is another initiative in the U.S. called Mobile Driver’s License where citizens in eight states can now, or can soon, include a digital representation of their driver’s license in a device’s wallet function. Mobile ID’s validation features easily integrate with this evolving capability.

Mobile account opening is not optional in today’s financial services environment. Verifying a customer’s identity is not optional either. Tungsten Mobile ID streamlines and speeds up the entire onboarding process. Your institution gets off to a fast, fully compliant, satisfying, and productive relationship with your new account holder.

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