Early Warning Rolls Out an Account-Based Identity Verification Service

In an effort to tackle the growing problem of digital-payment fraud, Early Warning Services LLC on Tuesday introduced Authentify, an account-based identity-verification service for consumers and businesses.

When loaded on to a business’s Web site or app, Authentify streamlines the customer identity-verification process by allowing consumers to share their bank-account data with that business through the consumer’s online or mobile-banking platform. Financial institutions can market the service as a value-added feature of their core digital-banking service.

In addition to using bank-account data to verify a consumer’s identity during a transaction, Authentify reduces errors when filling out forms. For businesses, the benefit of using Authentify is that it can reduce abandonment and fraud rates, while streamlining both mobile and desktop experiences, Early Warning says.

“A trusted identity is the key to safe online transactions,” Early Warning chief executive said chief executive Al Ko, in a prepared statement. “Authentify gives companies and consumers the ability to leverage bank-trusted data to help provide even greater levels of identity assurance.”

DocuSign Inc., a provider of e-signature technology, is the first company to offer Authentify for identity verification. Customers using DocuSign Identify, DocuSign’s identity framework for eSignature, will have the option to offer Authentify to consumers as a way for them to verify their identities when digitally signing electronic documents by logging into their financial institution. 

In addition to providing identity and payment solutions, Early Warning, which is owned by seven of the largest banks in the U.S., operates the Zelle peer-to-peer payment network.