Why you soon won't be able to do without identity services as a business owner

How well do you really know your customer? Any consumer can log in with you under a false name and with the wrong year of birth. As a business owner, you want customer data to be accurate and approved by the right person. With identity services such as iDIN, you let consumers authenticate themselves in a secure, fast and user-friendly way.

We discussed this with Amos Kater, head of products at Currence (iDIN). The organization has developed a tool in the field of identity services. “iDIN is an interbank solution that lets consumers authenticate themselves with businesses through their bank,” says Kater. “Consumers can then also share certain personal and contact details with businesses. For example, we offer a service that lets you, as a business, check whether someone is 18 or older.”

By using identity services, you as a business owner know exactly who you are dealing with, and you can comply with laws and regulations. For example, in situations where you need to be certain that someone is over eighteen, such as when selling alcohol (online).

Since July 1, 2021, age verification for alcohol sales has become much stricter. “It was already mandatory, but the rules were fairly light,” says Kater. “Now there are better checks online at the point of sale, but also on delivery. In Amersfoort and Utrecht, PostNL is running a trial where customers who have bought alcohol scan an iDIN QR code. If they are over 18, a check mark appears.”

A major advantage of solutions like iDIN is the level of security. “We work on the basis of strong authentication, and that really makes the difference,” Kater explains. Identity services have the security level “substantial.” “Thanks to the bank's app, that strong security is still very quick and simple for the consumer. What's more, you can use iDIN anywhere DigiD can't be used.”

Good to know: the consumer must always give explicit consent before personal data is shared with your business. You are not allowed to share this data with other organizations or use it for purposes other than those for which it was obtained.

More and more providers are entering the market with services like these, but iDIN still has an edge with consumers. iDIN is backed by banks, and that builds trust.

Kater saw demand for identity services rise sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic. “Suddenly you had to register at a restaurant or bar, for example. In many cases you could just write anything down, so it didn't work very well. You need to be able to know for certain that someone is who they say they are.”

iDIN is seeing tremendous growth, says Kater. “We're also seeing more awareness among consumers when it comes to digital security. That's why I expect digital identity and the ability to share data securely to really take off.”

Want to get started with iDIN yourself as a business owner? With Buckaroo, you can easily connect these identity services to your payment process. We are certified as a Digital Identity Service Provider.