Tesco Bank, Onfido Team up on ID Verification

Tesco Bank has launched a partnership with identity verification firm Onfido to provide security for new customers using the Tesco Clubcard Pay+ program, the bank announced in a news release Thursday (March 10).

The U.K. company says the partnership will ensure people who apply for the program will enjoy a faster journey thanks to Onfido’s digital identity verification.

“Rather than filling out postal applications, customers can apply directly through the Tesco Bank mobile banking app,” Tesco said. “Users simply take a photo of their government-issued identity document (ID) and a selfie. Onfido first checks that the ID is genuine and then matches it with the user’s face.”

Tesco says this ensures the person presenting an ID is that ID’s rightful owner and is physically present, allowing customers to verify their identities from any time and place.

Onfido’s identity verification prioritizes security, preventing fraudulent application attempts while adhering to all industry regulations designed to protect users and businesses, Tesco said.

The collaboration will see Onfido’s software development kits integrated with the Tesco Bank mobile app. It includes glare and blur detection, “which provides real-time feedback to help users submit high-quality pictures for document verification,” Tesco said.

Read more: Onfido: Biometrics Build A More Accessible And Inclusive Financial Future

PYMNTS spoke to Onfido Chief Strategy Officer Yuelin Li last year about the benefits of biometrics for ID security, including the “selfie-biometric.” This tool, Li said, creates a situation that makes the fraudsters’ stolen data worthless as it forces consumers to “bring the right face” to a transaction.

While cyber criminals try to circumvent this by using pictures of pictures, Li said, artificial intelligence (AI) is getting better all the time in ferreting out those tricks and “seeing” the difference between a picture of a picture and a picture of a living person.

“Also, the biometric verification itself can actually capture if it’s the same person trying to go into an account multiple times,” she said. “It is particularly helpful when you combine it with a photo ID, because you’re adding another layer, which is a genuine document.”