The partnership enables customers to prove their identity online, meaning they can onboard quicker, skipping going in-branch or posting documentation.

Founded in 1872, The Co-operative Bank is a retail and commercial bank and the first to introduce a customer-led Ethical Policy. It continues to embed cooperative values and ethics into the organisation, putting people at the heart of decisions they make. The Co-operative Bank wanted to enhance its onboarding process with a user-friendly identity verification process that meets regulatory requirements and mitigates fraud. By using Onfido Studio to set up its web application, The Co-operative Bank can verify new users’ identities in as little as 15 seconds, with accurate and automated identity verification, address verification and fraud prevention.

During the onboarding process via The Co-operative Bank’s website, users are prompted to upload a picture of their government-issued identity document (ID) and a selfie. Onfido’s Atlas AI first checks that the ID is genuine and not fraudulent, and then matches it to the user’s face using sophisticated facial biometric technology. This ensures the person presenting the identity is its legitimate owner and is physically present.

The Co-operative Bank has the assurance that the customer is who they say they are and can mitigate fraud attempts, while users can start their digital journey anywhere, anytime online.

“Onfido is a complete identity proofing product that we could plug into our application process without expensive IT engineering costs and without integrating it fully into our mainframe systems,” said Darren Prescott, Senior Manager Current Accounts & Credit Cards at The Co-operative Bank. “This meant we could implement a solution quickly, orchestrating workflows and automating decisions to improve the user experience and onboarding rate.”

“In today’s digital era, users expect fast, convenient, and secure access to services,” said Mike Tuchen, CEO at Onfido. “We’re proud to work with leading UK banks such as The Co-operative Bank to help them meet regulatory requirements, including Know Your Customer (KYC) and Anti-Money Laundering (AML), while meeting consumers’ changing digital preferences. Digital onboarding will help The Co-operative Bank customers spend less time waiting and more time spending, investing, and saving.”