Can Businesses Manage Without A.I Based Document Verification Software?

Verification simply refers to confirming the accuracy of something. For example, identity verification involves confirming that the person is actually who they are claiming to be. When this process is backed by documents that include unique personal details, like their name, DoB, ethnicity, etc, personal attributes are matched with the information present in those documents for verification purposes. This process of identity proofing with the help of documents is known as Document Verification.

Document Verification

Document verification involves verifying the authenticity of a document. A few examples of identity documents that are used for verification are listed below:

Government-issued ID cards
Passport
Utility Bills
Credit or Debit Cards
Drivers License
Bank Statements

The 3-Step Process of Online Document Verification

The document checking process has two main components:

Validating personal data, such as a customer’s name, age, address, gender, nationality, etc.
Validating document features, such as Watermarks, Rainbow Print, Issue and Expiry Date, MRZ or Bar Code, etc.

To achieve this, the following three steps are implemented online to enable remote document verification:

1. Document Upload

End-users are required to take or upload an image of their identity documents

2. Data Extraction

Data is extracted from authentic documents using Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology

3. Information Screening

The data obtained is verified with high accuracy and the results are displayed on the screen. In this step, fake documents are automatically identified

What Document Verification Software Offers to Businesses

Suppose you own a bank that opens hundreds of accounts on a daily basis. Dedicating an entire part of your workforce solely for the purpose of photograph and document authentication does not seem like a feasible option. Instead, automation can be utilized effectively to achieve the same goals.

This automated system guides the end-user through a step-by-step process as mentioned above, while simultaneously verifying customer identity by cross-matching physical attributes against the provided documents. This method is more effective than manual verification measures as software can better detect forgery and false documents that may have been submitted by fraudsters. Types of fake documents that a document verification software is able to spot through OCR technology are listed below:

Illegitimate Documents: Completely fake documents that involve missing rainbow prints/holograms, etc.
False Documents: Documents that belong to someone else and are illegally obtained by fraudsters to disguise themselves
Modified Documents: Documents that are a modified version of the original document and may include changes like different font sizes, dates of birth, etc.

With that being said, in a traditional setup, customers were requested to be physically present for verification. However, with the emergence of automated software, remote verification is no longer a challenge. Here are some of the features that make AI-powered document authentication software so unique:

Seamless conformity to global KYC/AML regulations
Enables businesses to offer better service to their customers
Instant verification
Low associated costs as compared to the manual process of verification
Develops a transparent relationship between the company and customer
The high rate of accuracy
Reduces risks of identity theft and account takeover

Industry Use Cases

Financial Institutions

Traditional methods of verification cannot be relied on to counter the sophisticated ways scammers target financial institutions. Being the fastest growing crime in the U.S, cyberattack damages are expected to cost US$6 trillion annually by 2021, which is a substantial rise from an amount of US$3 trillion which was reported in 2015. To avoid fraudsters from siphoning money off from accounts and eliminating the risk of money laundering, financial institutions must use document verification software to onboard legitimate customers through their official documents.

E-commerce Businesses

In the first six months of 2020, FTC reported a record high loss in the e-commerce sector, valuing up to approximately $117 million. At times, scammers enlist themselves as an e-commerce store on social media and never provide the promised products after taking full payments. In other cases, fake or stolen credit cards are utilized by scammers to buy products. The identity of the buyer and vendor is efficiently and accurately confirmed through appropriate document verification methods to lower the chances of such fraud.