Bird's eye view of illuminated big city at night with a multilane street
 
#Identity Technology

Cutting-edge ID card technology for the U.S. and Canada

Insights
4 Mins.

In the U.S. and Canada, the driver’s license is a vital piece of identification. For this reason, security features must be of exceptionally high quality and difficult to replicate.

A driver’s license is much more than just a simple document verifying one’s ability to drive a car. Today, these cards are proof of identity, and the technology built into them must be more advanced, more innovative, and highly secure.

Many Canadian provinces and U.S. states have turned to Veridos as their provider of choice for their driver’s license, ID card, identity verification, and health card needs. The company's long-standing presence in North America and its use of cutting-edge technology provides identification solutions that will meet security standards today and well into the future.

Woman in a car showing driver’s license to a police officer

Fighting identity theft and identity counterfeiting

A man hands his driver's license through the open car window

Rising identity theft presents the need for highly secure, full-life-cycle verification technologies that can detect someone using another individual’s identity. At the same time, combating identity counterfeiting – or synthetic identity fraud – requires the implementation of state-of-the-art security features. The U.S. Federal Trade Commission received more than 2.1 million fraud reports from consumers in 2020, according to newly released data,1 with impostor scams remaining the most common type of fraud reported to the agency. A recent survey by Experian showed that 33% of respondents were concerned about identity theft, up from 28% pre-pandemic.2 With credit card fraud being a primary issue, the stealing of personal information also impacts credit reports and can be a cover for potentially more serious crimes. Identity-related crimes are trends that concern both officials and the general public alike.

There are many ways to fight identity theft including biometric technology, pattern recognition, facial recognition, and smart software systems. However, key weapons in the arsenal are advanced ID cards and advanced authentication hardware and software. Veridos offers these in its identification cards, which makes fraud difficult, protecting potential victims from fraudulent activities and providing secure identification for law enforcement agencies.

E-Seek, a Veridos subsidiary, offers high-quality, efficient products to verify people’s identity and counteract identity counterfeiting. Its solutions are suitable for a range of different situations, from airports to traffic incidents, and can handle a range of IDs, including passports, permits, and licenses. These ID verification tools can make a significant difference to fraud detection levels. Secure ID combined with rapid verification technology assists governments in their quest to stay one step ahead of the fraudsters and should be a requirement in every state.

Canadian and US projects

Veridos has been running successful identity solutions in Canada since 2007. Currently, Veridos provides DL and ID card programs for multiple provinces, including Ontario, Saskatchewan, and Manitoba. In addition, Veridos currently runs card programs for the British Columbia Automobile Association, Alberta Motor Association, and the International Air Transport Association.

South of the border, in the U.S., Veridos technology sits behind the driver’s licenses of Ohio and Oregon. More than three million driver’s licenses and one million ID cards are produced by Veridos in the U.S., keeping solutions and jobs local to the market. 

The supply of so many driver’s licenses in both North American markets is highly significant given the pivotal role that they play as a day-to-day form of identification.

“It is exciting to see the positive development that we have made in the US and Canada. Veridos has the global expertise our customers want and the local presence you need to achieve sustainable success in North America. I am proud of my team here and thankful for the support we get from our Veridos and G+D colleagues“
Paul Mazzeo
President/Managing Director, Veridos North America

Conclusion

The driver’s license in North America is an important form of identification, often used as the primary piece of identification required to get other documents. With this in mind, the technology required to validate the bearer has escalated from standard security features, such as signatures and photos, to biometric data, including fingerprints, holograms, and more advanced ways to prevent identity fraud.

Veridos’s long-standing experience in delivering these solutions is highlighted with its ongoing successful market share increase in North America. Its acquisition of E-Seek in 2018 validates its commitment to improving all aspects of identitity protection from issuance to verification.

  1. FTC, February 2021, Consumer Sentinel Network Data Book 2020

  2. Experian, April 2021, 2021 Global Identity and Fraud Report

Published: 28/08/2021

Share this article

Subscribe to our newsletter

Don’t miss out on the latest articles in G+D SPOTLIGHT: by subscribing to our newsletter, you’ll be kept up to date on latest trends, ideas, and technical innovations – straight to your inbox every month.

Please supply your details: