What is Biometric Information?
The concept of biometric information refers to data related to human measurements and characteristics. By measuring and gathering an individual’s measurements and characteristics as defined by their physical appearance, one can generate a dataset that is unique to them. This dataset is their biometric information.
Biometrics for Identity Verification
Biometric information is increasingly used for secure and highly reliable identity verification.
Because biometric information is generated by converting human measurements and characteristics – examples include fingerprints and facial features – into data that is readable by a computer, this data can be used to verify an individual’s identity by cross-checking their biometric information against a database.
Biometric technology greatly enhances the identity verification process by offering a means of identity verification that is quick, easy and streamlined. Accordingly, biometric information has sped up the verification process and enhanced it with a new layer of security.
Facial Biometric Information
A common form of biometric information is the use of live selfies to instantly verify a user – a process that uses instantly captures and processes that user’s facial biometrics.
The service scans a photograph/selfie and transforms facial features into digital biometric information. The information is then used to cross-check the photograph against a provided Identity Document or Passport, thereby confirming or invalidating the individual’s provided identity information.
For South African citizens, ThisIsMe offers an enhanced service that crosschecks a photograph and a given identity document against the digital image held by the DHA on the Home Affairs National Identification System (HANIS).
Liveness Detection
Liveness detection is a technology designed to further secure the identity verification process by ensuring that the individual being verified is a real person.
Liveness detection uses an array of advanced technologies to detect the presence of a live user, as opposed to a fraudulent representation like a picture or a mask, or a fake video or hologram.
What are the Advantages of Biometrics?
Biometric verifications offer an additional layer of security. By cross-checking a user’s facial biometric information against their identity information stored within national databases, facial biometric information offers the highest degree of real-time risk mitigation for businesses that engage with clients in a digital or face-to-face environment.
Furthermore, biometric identity verification can be brilliantly integrated into the customer onboarding process as a way of meeting regulatory compliance obligations in a way that is easy and stress-free for the customer.
This is important because as the customer’s first interaction with the business, the customer onboarding has the potential to make or break a future business relationship – a bad onboarding process can turn the customer away and lose their business.
Recognizing this, it can sometimes be difficult to conduct the necessary customer due diligence and ensure regulatory compliance without worsening the overall customer experience. In such circumstances, biometric identity verification is a tool that can be used to ensure the highest standards of accuracy and security while still ensuring that the customer onboarding process remains streamlined and effortless.
By using biometrics for identity verification within the customer onboarding process, a business can offer a streamlined and easy method for identification, thereby ensuring a world-class digital customer experience.
Biometric Identity Verifications Solutions for South Africa
As South Africa’s leading provider of world-class due diligence and digital-onboarding solutions, ThisIsMe is proud to be at the forefront of a trust-based and privacy-compliant digital world. Our suite of enhanced due diligence services offers a wide array of identity verification, data validation, risk assessment and automated digital onboarding solutions. To find out more about how our identity verification services can enhance your business, contact our team here.
