Introduction
In today's digital landscape, safeguarding against fraud is crucial. That's why we've integrated an optional ID verification process during booking, utilising Stripe Identity's robust capabilities to screen your customers.
Reasons to enable ID checks
While it can be argued that an ID check during booking prolongs the checkout process, there are multiple reasons to enable ID checks:
ID checks reduce the risk of fraudulent bookings, ensuring every transaction is backed by verified identities, bolstering your business's security.
Having your customers' identity verified increase the chances of recovering losses in case of damages during booking, providing robust support for dispute resolution.
Verified customer identities instill confidence, enhancing trust in your services and fostering stronger client relationships.
Please note that an ID check is connected to a customer rather than a specific booking. In other words, once a customer completes the ID check, they will not need to undergo the process again if they decide to complete another booking.
How to enable ID checks with Stripe Identity
Step #1 - Activate Stripe Identity in your Stripe dashboard.
Steps you have to follow within Stripe:
a. Click on “More +” on the menu sidebar
b. Scroll down to “Identity verification”
c. Submit the form
After completing these steps, ID check is activated and should be usable.
Step #2 - Create Stripe Identity Restricted API Key
For using Stripe Identity with the Kinnovis Manager, you have to first created a "Restricted API Key" via your Stripe Dashboard.
Note: It's very important to create the right API key, which is a "Restricted Key" with custom permission, as this ensures highest security when dealing with sensitive data like ID documents.
You find the information in your Stripe dashboard by navigating to "Developers" > "API Key" > "Create restricted API key".
Once you clicked on the button, you can set a name "Kinnovis Identity Session" and set the right permissions.
Note: Again, here, it's very important to select the exact same permissions as described below.
Section "Identity"
Please select the following:
Verification Sessions and Reports → "write"
Access recent detailed verification results → "read"
Section "Webhook Resources"
Please select the following:
All webhook resources → "write"
Section "All core resources"
Please select the following:
Files → "write"
Please double-check again your selection. Once everything was correctly selected, click on "Create key" at the bottom of the page.
Attention: Don’t send this key to anyone via email or other messaging systems. Only provide this key in our system in the connected app area. The key will be stored securely in our system and is NOT fully displayed in our system any more.
Step #3 - Connect Stripe Identity to the Kinnovis Manager
Connect your Stripe account with the previously created "Restricted API Key" with your Kinnovis Manager and define for which locations the Stripe Identity should be activated. To find your Stripe Account ID open the https://dashboard.stripe.com/settings/account. On the left side you can find the account ID.
Please follow the instructions below:
Go to Connected Apps in your Kinnovis Manager
Click on "Connect" in the Stripe Identity Card
Select the location for which you wanted to activate the Stripe ID check
Paste your "Restricted API Key" in the field "API key"
Add your Stripe Account ID
Navigate to "Booking Portal" to "Location Settings" and activate "ID Check" for the respective locations. Once activated, this step has to be performed during the booking process on your customer portal.
Be aware: In case you have multiple Stripe accounts, make sure to connect the right Stripe account to the right location(s).
All done - Now you can use ID check in your booking portal 🏁
How the verification process looks like for your customers
After a customer has entered their information and payment details, they are prompted to initiate the ID verification process. Customers have the option to capture a picture using their phone or webcam, or they can upload a file containing their identity documentation. Following this, customers are required to enter their mobile phone number to finalize the verification process on their device.
Customers won't receive instant feedback, since an ID document check typically takes 1 to 3 minutes to complete. In case you have E-Signatures enabled, this step will follow after the ID check.
ID requirements
The document submitted must be up-to-date.
It must be a valid document such as an ID, passport or driving licence.
The picture of the must be of good quality.
Be aware that the ID check will only be triggered for bookings generated through the booking portal. In case you create a manual booking through the Kinnovis manager, you have to upload a picture of an ID document yourself.
Selfie check
While document checks provide a defence against the use of fraudulent identity documents, it’s possible for fraudsters to get access to legitimate stolen documents. To prevent this, selfie checks are being performed.
Selfie checks look for distinguishing biological traits, such as face geometry, from a photo ID and a picture of your user’s face. Your customers will have to scan there faces in this step.
How to check the ID details and status of the ID verification
You can monitor the status of the verification in the customer detail view within your Kinnovis manager under "Details". Additionally, you'll find the picture of the ID document, full name, postal code and country associated with the verification.
Document checks are performed asynchronously, meaning that verification results are not immediately available. Typically, an identity document check takes between 1 and 3 minutes to complete. Once processing is finished, the status transitions from "verifying" (indicating that the check is underway) to "verified" (denoting successful verification) or "failed to verify" (ID could not be verified).
What to do if the customer's ID check fails
In the event of an ID check failure, the status in the customer detail view will be "failed to verify". Furthermore, the customer will be promptly notified of the failed check and is instructed to go through the process again. Equipped with this verification status, you can take appropriate action:
Remind the customer via email to re-initiate the ID check process through the customer portal. Do this automatically via "Actions" - "Send email reminder".
Request the customer to provide a picture of the ID for you to manually upload it via the customer detail page in the Kinnovis manager. This option may be necessary if the customer encounters technical access issues or is not tech-savvy.
Mark the ID verification as verified (via "Actions").
If you have doubts about the customer's identity or potential fraud, consider revoking the customer's access to the storage facility or their unit.
What happens if a customer's details don't match their ID document
We also conduct validation to confirm that the customer's ID matches the name provided during the booking process. If there is a discrepancy between the name and the ID, it will be highlighted on the customer detail page. Please note that our validation process only checks for consistency between the first and last names.
Reasons for false positives:
False positives (error is incorrectly triggered) can occur due to factors such as language variations, different handling of middle names, and formatting differences. To avoid mismatches caused by these reasons:
Middle Name Handling: Systems may handle middle names differently, requiring consistency checks.
Formatting Differences: Variations in capitalization and formatting can lead to discrepancies.
Special Characters and Diacritics: Names with special characters may not be supported uniformly across systems, causing mismatches.
Costs linked to the verification process verification
Since we use Stripe's Identity product, the pricing for each check will be charged via Stripe. Find more information about the general pricing here and the Stripe's billing details here.
Conclusion
Enable Stripe Identity and connect it with your Kinnovis manager to prevent attacks from fraudsters while minimising friction for legitimate customers. Conducting ID checks prevent fraud cases, streamline risk operations, and increase trust and safety.