Digital IDs: Convenient and Secure

We're all familiar with the concept of utilizing a tangible ID to prove our identities. IDs allow us to transact safely, work effectively, and travel freely—from driver's licenses to employee badges. Recently, individuals feel more at ease using digital IDs to accomplish the same things. Consumers gravitate towards digital IDs because they are convenient and easy to use. The widespread acceptance of digital wallets by consumers has opened up new use cases, such as hotel room keys, national IDs, and even passports. Through the use of digital IDs (which allow users to verify their identities on their most readily available devices), many companies are bolstering customer and employee authentication.

The foundation and driving force behind recent MFA developments has been mobile authentication. Mobile authentication solutions offer an additional layer of security to online accounts and services, making it one of the most secure ways to deploy multi-factor authentication (MFA). This is fantastic news: when mobile devices can integrate seamlessly with other business technologies, ultimately becoming widely embraced by users. What does this mean for business practices? Improving convenience and security.

Choosing Mobile Means Going Green

Another huge benefit of mobile IDs lie within its alignment to clean environmental initiatives. Organizations utilizing mobile IDs benefit from the limited carbon footprint related to their authentication strategy. The plastic card production process can require a significant amount of resources. The material of most smart cards is PVC-based, which requires around 35 gigajoules of energy per ton of plastic produced. This is certainly an impact considered by organizations looking to align their initiatives with low-consumption practices. Ultimately, for these companies, mobile authentication is the way to go. Simply stated: mobile is sustainable.

Since mobile devices are almost always accessible, users don’t face the drawbacks that can arise when issued a physical ID card.  On average, organizations suffer a card loss rate of approximately 17% per year. In companies with 500 employees that could mean about 86 people require replacement cards annually. Avoiding the use of tangible cards ensures that any replacement costs are entirely minimized. 

Mobile access is nothing new. Sanjit Bardhan, the Head of Mobile ID at HID Global cites that  “We have had it since 2014”. Luckily, the technology behind Mobile ID security has wildly improved since then. According to Bardhan, “When HID Mobile Access was introduced more than a decade ago, smartphones weren’t as ubiquitous as they are today, and much has advanced in the mobile technology space”. Apple and Samsung can be credited for training a whole generation on how to use mobile through platforms like Apple Pay. The process of utilizing digital wallet features is synonymous with that of mobile IDs. Since a high volume of users are already familiar with this technology, integration and adoption is effortless.

Ultimately, Mobile IDs will continue to be the driving force in the future of MFA and access security. Adopting a Mobile ID solution means high convenience, ease of implementation/use, low cost, and low environmental impact. For information on how Tx Systems can help you get started with Mobile ID access, reach out today!