Identity proofing platform provider IDnow has obtained security approval from ANSSI for the remote identity verification certification PVID for its identity proofing services. The PVID (prestataire de verification d’identité à distance) certification received by the company is on the level ‘substantial’ for its IDCheck.io Identity Proofing Service and VideoIdent Qualified Electronic Signature.

The certification showcases the company’s commitment to providing its customers with solutions that are safe, compliant, and fully in line with the regulations in France. IDnow’s PVID certification The second private player to obtain the coveted certification, IDnow is believed to now hold an advantage within the digital identity-proofing market. The certified IDCheck.io Identity Proofing Service and VideoIdent Qualified Electronic Signature provide customers with a trusted onboarding process that meets the security requirements of the ACPR (Autorité de contrôle prudentiel et de resolution) and supports the fight against money laundering and fraud.

The solutions enable banks to offer flexible, simple, and fast digital paths to better conversion rates through 100% remote identification, equivalent to a face-to-face process. When commenting on the announcement, Rayissa Armata, Senior Head of Regulatory Affairs at IDnow said that obtaining PVID certification is a validation for IDnow and recognition of the company’s expertise surrounding the digital identity market in France. As the regulatory landscape seeks to have its reach expanded to additional digital services across Europe, PVID provides national regulators with an example of a consistent framework that situates privacy and security at its forefront.

The spokesperson added that beyond France, PVID marks a step forward in IDnow’s ambition to offer customers increasingly secure solutions certified by reference organisations of the likes of ANSSI. Per their statement, standards such as PVID and TS 119 461 could potentially be the building block for future onboarding regulations across geographies and applications, like digital identity wallets. PVID and what it means for digital and financial security In the current society where transactions are increasingly digitised and predominantly done remotely, the risk of identity theft has seen an increase, especially within the banking and financial sector.

This compelled the National Agency for the Security of Information Systems (Agence nationale de la sécurité des systèmes d’information, the ANSSI) to establish a new framework defining more strict requirements of identity verification providers. This standard leads the way for select identity providers to fight against fraud in an effective manner – a singular goal across rigorous anti-money laundering (AML) laws in France and throughout Europe. Per the announcement, PVID raised cybersecurity standards for traditional finance, digital finance, trust services, and beyond.

Introduced in March 2021, PVID certifies providers the ability to offer identity verification as defined by Europe’s Regulation on Electronic Identification and Trust Services, eIDAS Regulation. Whereas eIDAS sets out European levels of security to meet the equivalence of face-to-face verification for varied use cases, PVID implements these levels of security to enable compliant digital onboarding for banking and other financial services in France. Issued for two years, the certification helps highly regulated banking or FinServ players to access an extensive, secure service offering, thus enabling remote identification while concomitantly decreasing the risk of identity fraud.

Per the press release, France is the first country in the EU to establish an effective policy for remote identity verification and was followed by the European Telecommunications Standards Institute’s (ETSI) work on the ETSI TS 119 461 standard, which pursues a similar purpose. .