Over 10 million travelers have utilized Airside's shareable digital identification technology, which is regarded as reliable by many U.S. government organizations, including the Transportation Security Administration (TSA). The major airlines in the world are among its clients, permitting travelers to use the apps like Airside Digital Identity to breeze through US airports since the app provides users with official documents like government-issued ID and health records.
According to Onfido, which already provides ID verification to a variety of industries, the acquisition “will enable businesses to create a seamless user experience that supports more effective onboarding and expanded customer relationships, while radically reducing fraud and minimizing the liability associated with handling sensitive data.”
This partnership may have wide-ranging effects on the financial services sector because it will enable financial institutions to confirm a customer's ID without requiring them to scan and submit papers each time they sign up. KYC screening has grown to be a significant compliance burden for banks and other financial service providers since Russia's invasion of Ukraine triggered a series of international sanctions. Other uses include e-commerce and internet platforms in addition to travel and finances.
Onfido Will Apply Airside’s ‘proven approach’ in Travel.
“Until now identity verification has digitised physical processes, but those processes haven’t changed[…]We’re still handing our identity over to be checked every time we access a new service. This partnership will change that, giving users control and organisations greater confidence in who their customers are. We plan to take Airside’s proven approach to the airline industry and apply it to other sectors requiring high customer assurance, such as financial services – providing a single, trusted view of each customer’s identity,” says Mike Tuchen, CEO of Onfido.
Meanwhile, Adam Tsao, Founder at Airside says, “By teaming up with Onfido and layering in their trusted verification technology with Airside’s Digital ID, we can take identity to the next level with the same ease and trust we have with online payments.” Apparently, Tsao is meant to stay with the company and supervise the product from within Onfido.
With the acquisition of Airside by Onfido, the company may move a step closer to digital IDs, which would be used anywhere once verified. Consumers will be able to utilize a single, integrated digital ID to authenticate their identity wherever they need to. Similar to how credit cards and mobile payments have lessened our daily reliance on cash, it may render traditional ID cards obsolete.
Consider entering a local bar and presenting your digital ID, which is kept in your digital wallet and also grants you access to internet services, as identification. Additionally, there would be no need to continuously scan or upload documents because your digital ID would be available for use at several points of service and would remain in your wallet.
