CRA Looking to Launch Digitally Secure Ways with Identity Verification Services

Canada Revenue Agency or CRA in collaboration with an identity verification service called Secure Key is working towards launching a digitally secure system that will verify the identities of filers, whenever they wish to log into their website. The whole operation is basically centred around the premise that any citizen walking into a government office is able to verify their identity even if they are not carrying their ID documents with them.

Why Identity Verification?

The new identity verification methods will also enable the agency to weed out any criminals and fraudsters. They are also hoping to extend the service in the private sector wherein business from different sectors can use such services as a way of fraud prevention and detection.

The service that the CRA and SecureKey have also been working on is also being tested on banks to allow some sort of collaboration between banks and governmental agencies. This shall enable the banks to authorise their customers’ identities when they log in to their online accounts.

ID verification to Counter Online Fraud

For the moment the service is being tested and fine-tuned for both the companies to use effectively. For the moment the CEO of SecureKey has expressed his commitment to completing the project and his goal to provide id verification in a secure manner that ensures the privacy of the end user. He also conveyed that the services are primarily focused on reducing fraudulent activities across businesses.

Currently, a number of businesses in the private sector including banks and financial institutions are urging for some way to get their systems linked to government databases to verify their users’ digitally and make their systems secure against identity fraud. What they are looking for essentially is to authenticate the users through multiple digital reference points including document verification, face verification through facial recognition and age verification.

On the other hand, they are also trying to test if the service would work the other way round. In that, the company wishes to see if a user applying for a loan at a bank, for instance, could be verified the bank to see if the person in question is really looking to apply for a loan or just trying to get access to finance. That said, the service is still in its testing phase and will take some time to be made available to the public and private sector.

In the identity verification service sector, Shufti is a leading player and provides Know Your Customer (KYC) verification services as a SaaS product. Shufti provides multiple services under the umbrella of KYC services including ID verification, document and face verification, age verification and AML compliance. Shufti offers its services not just in Canada and North America but in over 230 countries all over the world. Its verification process works on the basis of top of the line AI based authentication protocols, that is able to keep the user data secure and private.