Businesses in the UK and U.S. have been ramping up their identity verification processes in order to protect customers during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

New research from Trulioo, identity verification provider, found that almost three quarters (72%) of online marketplaces have increased their adoption of ID verification technology as a direct consequence of COVID-19. And more than half (52%) of financial services organizations have done so. 

This sudden speed in identity verification adoption is a clear reflection of the urgency to protect the huge numbers of consumers who have been forced to use digital services for the first time as a result of lockdown restrictions. According to research from Halifax, these people, often from the most vulnerable groups in society, have become targets for fraud and identity theft over recent months. 

The research shows that online marketplaces have had to execute rapid digital transformation programs in order to serve customers and maintain operations during the pandemic. And this has led to a significant need for identity verification, far ahead of the next nearest drivers; regulatory pressure and compliance requirements (57%) and evolving fraud and security risks (51%).

Findings from a DMEXCO Trend Survey revealed that 70% of executives believe that the pandemic will accelerate the pace of the digital transformation.

According to the Trulioo findings, other drivers for adopting ID verification across both the online marketplace and financial services industries include current methods not meeting their evolving needs, and pressure to innovate to address increasingly tighter regulatory requirements. 

“Lockdowns and huge shifts in consumer behavior have pushed the world into an almost ‘digital-only’ society,” said Zac Cohen, COO of Trulioo. “But the resulting impact is that businesses have had to react incredibly quickly to build digital platforms to serve their customers and compete in this highly volatile market. This brings risk, with organizations facing a whole host of new and sophisticated online security threats. Real-time identity verification has become a strategic imperative for all businesses to ensure compliance, deliver world-class digital experiences and to establish trust with customers in a highly uncertain world.”

The importance of ID verification to online marketplaces, in terms of building trust amongst customers during the account creation process, was also highlighted in another research conducted by Trulioo earlier this year. 

The vast majority of consumers in the UK and U.S. (90%) felt that security is very important in a great account opening experience when signing up to an online marketplace, and 89% stated that online marketplaces have a responsibility to reduce cyber-crime through whatever identity verification is necessary.

Perhaps most importantly given the current focus on driving online trust during the pandemic, almost three quarters (74%) of people said the account opening process can ‘make or break’ their future relationship with an online marketplace brand.