Jun 15, 2021German company IDnow, which offers a platform-as-a-service identity-verification solution, has announced the addition of Near Field Communication (NFC) reading capability to its IDnow AutoIdent offering. This, the company reports, will provide users with a smoother and quicker verification process.
The new solution will support all identification documents globally that follow the ICAO 9303 standard, such as electronic passports and NFC-supported ID cards. All a user will require, according to IDnow, will be an ID card containing a radio frequency identification chip, as well as an NFC-enabled smartphone. IDnow's app will recognize the presence of the RFID chip, then will read the individual's personal data and biometric information (a photo) contained on the chip with integrated privacy protection. The system will compare the biometric information retrieved from the chip to a video and a liveness check.
The identity-verification platform is intended to make the connected world safer, IDnow explains. The company's platform provides a portfolio of solutions ranging from automated to human-assisted systems, and from purely online to point-of-sale, all designed to boost user conversion rates and security. The firm maintains offices in Germany, the United Kingdom and France, and it is backed by investors Corsair Capital and Seventure Partners. IDnow's clients include Western Union, UBS, Commerzbank, Sixt, Munich Re, N26, Solarisbank, wefox and Tier mobility.
IDnow says it noticed that users increasingly value quick and easy identification, and that they appreciate the freedom of choice when selecting an identification method. Different user groups prefer different methods, the company explains, and businesses can achieve large increases in their conversion rates if they offer users a choice. Therefore, IDnow provides a platform that includes identification methods both offline and online, ranging from automated methods to procedures carried out by identity specialists.
"The NFC capability for our AutoIdent product is a significant step in order to further augment our platform and create a smooth user journey for everyone," said Vikas Seth, IDnow's chief product officer, in a prepared statement. "Our customers value this freedom of choice for their users and see high conversion rates with seamless, easy processes. Through the application of NFC-based RFID chips, read in the IDnow AutoIdent product, you don't need to compromise, but get the best of both worlds—a high level of security and a convenient onboarding process at high speed."
Reading e-passports via NFC technology has been accomplished by several airports, using passport gates with high security requirements. Adding this feature to IDnow AutoIdent, the company reports, enables banks, insurance providers and other businesses to protect themselves from fraudsters and identity thieves using a method already established and understood by end users—one that is automated and built to improve conversion rates. For high-security use cases, IDnow is offering a variant that can check the authenticity of an RFID chip and validate it on a secure server with digital certificates, thus ensuring that the chip has not been compromised by criminals.
IDnow has expanded its role in recent years beyond offering individual identification methods, as its platform for digital identities now carries out several million transactions annually. This year, the firm announced its acquisition of Identity Trust Management AG, a provider of online and offline verification technologies. According to IDnow, this was its second acquisition within a span six months, and it will allow the firm to expand into new industries throughout Europe, and to offer its services to a broader customer base in Germany and beyond.
