Identity beyond borders
Differences between countries requires local market knowledge
Identity technologies are a huge market opportunity in the digital economy yet, the market is complex. There is a fragmentation of identity solutions available on the market and standards across jurisdiction, which creates friction for businesses. As more and more of our lives play online, interoperability is becoming essential in a globalised world, where customers must be served seamlessly across physical and digital borders. A digital business with a manual identity verification process will therefore not scale, only yield frustration for the customer and slow down customer acquisition for businesses. Too often banking processes and technologies are not built for this modern world. Financial institutions struggle to build, launch and change products fast enough. Instead of coding and building identity solutions themselves, financial institutions should configure and integrate to identity providers with local market expertise and breadth of technologies that meet those local market needs. In this way, businesses leave the complexities to the experts and can accelerate their go to market ambitions.
We have researched the consumers’ usage and satisfaction with 4 different digital identification methods.
Physical Identification Method
had good experience with scanning physical identity documents
have not used it, and would rather not
Scanning physical identity documents by mobile camera or using webcam
People are broadly happy to use mobile cameras and webcams to scan physical media like passports. In the Ukraine this is most popular, with over 70% of respondents having a good experience with this technology already. Even Finland, the least positive towards this idea, had nearly two-thirds of people in favour.
NFC Identification Method
Near Field Communication (NFC), a method used to upload document information as part of the onboarding process. Passports and other ID documents contain a readable chip that smartphones can read. Reliable and fast.
Only
had had good experience with using NFC, while only
of the 65+ have had a good experience
Using NFC reading was less popular, but not yet unpopular, with Lithuania and Ukraine the most positive and France the least negative, with just under half happy to use this technology.
Using NFC across 14 markets
Video Technology Identification Method
have recorded a video to prove who they were, and only
have had a good experience with this
Video calls and recordings are not desperately unpopular, but neither are they popular. Even in Germany, where they are a common way to onboard customers, this method is not much more popular than elsewhere. The outlier is Poland, where people seem very keen on the idea.
What is perhaps surprising about this is that many of us have had a great deal of time to get used to being on camera, whether it’s for our jobs or making personal calls. Whether its fatigue or reluctance, we generally don’t want more video calls in our lives.
A live video interview with a customer service agent
Recording a short video to prove who you are
Digital Identification Method
Digital identity in the form of an eID scheme is almost universally popular. Unsurprisingly, the Nordics and Baltics top the list of those who has used eID. 9% had never used eID, and would not want to use it.
had never used eID and would not want to use it
Usage of Electronic Identity Scheme (eID) across 14 market
In the markets where an electronic identity scheme is well-established, such as in the Nordics, consumers are happy with it and “have had good experience” with it. In countries such as Germany, The Netherlands and Belgium, consumers “would be happy to use this” more compared to the other markets. Results might be indicative that although eIDs are available in these respective markets (nPA, Verimi, Yes in Germany, iDIN in The Netherlands and Itsme in Belgium) they are not as widely adopted yet with there being less respondents answering “have had good experience”. UK remains an outlier however, with a less established eID system, and thus sheds light that the various interpretations of eID must be taken into consideration when digesting the data.
Electronic Identity Scheme (eID)
Cross-border interoperable identity is a must
While differences between nations and across borders do persist, the expectation for a cross-border identity has reached a tipping point. 64% of respondents want the identity credential that they use to apply for financial services applications to be re-used across borders – with Spain (76%), Lithuania (72%), Ukraine (71%), France (68%), and Belgium (65%) as high runners.
Only
of overall respondents reported it being either not very important or not important.
For financial service providers, offering the eID schemes that those consumers want to passport into new markets is critical to attracting customers across those markets.