The absence of regulation by the government doesn't necessarily mean a risk-based approach is lacking. In some markets, a full KYC process is not required. Several online services in the non-regulated industry want to verify the identity of their customers. This is because a company wants to create a safe environment for its users. These companies usually want to check the customer's COVID passport is not plagiarized or check the age of the user.
Validating certain customer identity aspects
The companies in the regulated industries such as financial services, gambling & casinos, etc. have strict control and monitoring obligations. KYC (Know Your Customer) is the practice carried out by companies within regulated industries to verify the identity of their clients in compliance with legal requirements and current laws and regulations. User authentication is essential for any business to ensure their services or goods are going towards the right person, not to mention it's necessary to meet compliance standards. The customer onboarding process is the most crucial touchpoint for verifying the user's identity, protecting the business from fraud and for establishing a stellar customer experience. Thanks to companies like ZignSec, you can create an automated and digitised customer onboarding process. This creates opportunities for companies to eliminate friction and difficulty for customers to access their online services. With ZignSec you can tailor each KYC / B process for each country and market, not only for the regulated industries but all industries.
Such KYC software solutions can also be utilized to continually audit client activity, streamline risk management, or be implemented for other controls. The world is digitizing at a rapid pace, to purchase goods and utilizing services online has become a widespread practice among many people worldwide. Plenty of online businesses that are not subjected to AML rules and KYC requirements nevertheless have needs for validating certain identity aspects of their customers. Implementing software solutions accordingly to safeguard company core values and protect its customers has become commonplace within unregulated industries. The consumers' inclination to decline online services and goods due to an unsatisfactory customer experience or for safety reasons is a form of regulation. Also, the absence of regulation by the government does not remotely mean that the state of such laws is set forever. Circumstances just as regulations are changed and widened continuously. A current example is that many governments are now introducing vaccination certificates for travelling and for attending public events and gatherings such as theatres, concerts, and sporting events due to the contagious COVID-19 virus.
Implement an identity verification process
Here is a shining example of how implementing software solutions can meet crucial business needs and adapt the customer journey to external circumstances and sudden requirements:In South Africa, concert halls and festivals are hit with hefty fines if minors serve alcohol. Therefore, festival organizers must ensure that those who buy a personal ticket online are +18 years old. The organizer in question previously urged their customers to send a photo of their ID document via email. Hence, registering ticket buyers has been time-consuming and resource-intensive. This process for age verification has not proved to be particularly secure or accurate. The remedy was implementing an automated age verification process with the online purchase.
The customer takes a photo of their ID document with their mobile phone in combination with a selfie. The selfie image is compared with the picture on the ID document, using automation and AI technology within a few seconds. This process ensures an accurate and safe age verification are successful. The South African government introduced requirements to present a valid COVID-19 vaccine certificate to enter concerts and festivals. The physical vaccine certificate consists of paper, and thus there are countless fake ones in circulation. The customer is asked to take a photo of their vaccine certificate, which is then scanned and examined at a pixel level to ensure its authenticity. This swift, secure, and accurate age verification process — along with advanced authenticity examination of the COVID-19 vaccine certificate — is a vivid example of how unregulated entities can utilize needs-based software solutions to secure and reinforce their business.
An international online marketplace for second-hand products may find it wise to implement an identity verification process for sellers and buyers. This process avoids or at least tracks users selling or buying illegally acquired items. An interactive call centre might utilize an identity verification process or Phone Number Validation, combined to turn an unknown number into a validated person. These processes can create a channel for strong authentication. Regardless of desideratum, all the software solutions companies crave are found in one single connection to ZignSec.