Canada-based account onboarding fintech company thirdstream has extended its partnership with Thales looking to modernise in-person identity verification in Canada. Together, the companies aim to reshape the landscape of identity verification solutions for financial institutions, launching advanced in-person document scanner and reader technology to support identity verification (IDV) solutions for bank branches.

Building on an existing collaboration supporting remote identity verification, thirdstream and Thales are now teaming up with tools to help fight in-person identity theft as experienced within financial institutions. Identity verification and thirdstream – Thales partnership details With a focus on addressing in-person fraud attempts in financial services, Thales’ Intelligent document reader solutions help authenticate or capture data from electronic travel and government-issued identity documents quickly and reliably. By leveraging Thales’ expertise in secure digital identity and thirdstream’s continually deepening relationships with Canada-based banks, credit unions, and trust companies, the collaboration aims to bring increasingly advanced identity verification options to the market.

Per the announcement, key highlights of the partnership include: Proven tech. As a digital identity and security company, Thales is set to provide its latest advancements in biometrics, secure document scanning, and authentication solutions to better the in-person identity verification process, making it faster and more secure. The tech is proven and deployed with global border security as well as financial services companies. Simplified compliance.

thirdstream’s configurable onboarding platform, alongside Thales’ security solutions, is to provide a simplified and fully compliant identity verification process, meeting regulators' requirements and helping ensure a frictionless customer experience. The companies are delivering a proven out-of-the-box and off-the-shelf solution. Enhanced customer experience. The collaboration looks to create an improved customer experience by incorporating advanced tech, decreasing wait times, and increasing the efficiency of in-person identity verification.

Fraud prevention and partnership context Per a TransUnion analysis of vulnerable sectors detailed in the press release, financial services had the most significant increase when talking about fraud attempts, with the rate exceeding 200%. As in-person and digital fraud attempts against financial institutions are growing, Thales and thirdstream steps are considered timely. From 2020 onwards, thirdstream has leveraged the Thales’ IdCloud platform to provide remote KYC and AML services for digital banking benefiting from mobile devices to capture images from government-issued photo IDs and selfies.

The document is checked for authenticity and the ID photo is matched against the selfie, with liveness detection to ensure a live person is carrying out the request. When commenting on the collaboration, Thales officials advised that the company is looking forward to offering a simplified and secure in-branch ID-proofing experience for financial institutions and their customers alike at a time of growing risk from fraud and increased regulatory requirements. More to this point, thirdstream representatives added that the expansion of the partnership reflects both companies’ commitment to remain at the forefront of innovation for the financial services industry.

Per their statement, the advancement elevates the standards for identity verification in Canada, and they are creating a ‘friction-right’ experience for consumers, which, as per research, is among the best contributors in defeating identity theft. The press release further details that the collaboration seeks to set a new benchmark for secure, convenient, and efficient in-person identity verification solutions in the Canadian market, with further announcements expected in the time to come. Furthermore, both Thales and thirdstream are positioned to help reshape the identity verification landscape in Canada, offering critical tools to meet regulatory requirements, while bettering the customer experience.

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