Identity verification software ensures a person or an online user is who they claim to be. These solutions use a combination of document authentication, biometric recognition, data cross-checks, and risk analysis. Businesses verify user identities to create trust online and offline, prevent identity fraud, and comply with privacy and anti-fraud regulations.
Identity verification solutions are typically used at key moments of identity proofing, such as employee or customer onboarding, or when accessing high-value assets. Risk, compliance, fraud, and operations teams rely on these systems to reduce identity fraud, streamline user experiences, and meet legal standards such as know your customer (KYC), anti-money laundering (AML), and national identity assurance levels. Identity verification can be accomplished through different means, such as photo-based identity document verification, biometric data like live selfies, and checking against known identity libraries such as public records. Many solutions provide orchestration capabilities to automate decisions, trigger fallback workflows (manual reviews), and adapt identity proofing logic by region, risk level, or customer type.
Identity verification software differs from solutions such as address verification tools and OCR software because those verification tools are not necessarily tied to identity and lack the risk analysis capabilities found in identity verification software. It is also closely related to, but different from, biometric authentication software. While these tools may use similar technologies, their use cases are different, and the authentication tools typically integrate with different types of networks and applications.
To qualify for inclusion in the Identity Verification category, a product must:
- Support multiple identity and credential verification methods, including document, biometric, and data-driven approaches
- Verify and authenticate documents, such as ID cards
- Analyze data provided by the user to determine risk
