As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many aspects of daily life have adapted to remote formats, including those in educational, professional, and personal domains. Considering how the pandemic has shifted societal norms in a digital direction, preventing fraud and protecting user identity and privacy have become central concerns to remote solutions.

Remote notarization, which did exist pre-pandemic, is one service which has undergone transformation as a result of COVID-19 and increasing popularity. Many states have issued emergency measures allowing notaries to perform remote online notarizations in response to the COVID-19 crisis. Congress is also pushing to pass the new Standardization and Secure Notarization Act, which would authorize every notary in the U.S. to perform remote online notarizations as companies turn to digital services amid social distancing regulations.

Since notarization acts as an important verification tool to prevent fraud and authenticate the identity of document signers, finding secure and trustworthy digital solutions that are easy to use has been an industry challenge.

Mobile capture and identity verification software solutions provider Mitek and KYS-Tech have partnered to bring Mitek’s Mobile Verify to the KYS-Tech remote online notary platform (RON). This solution, as part of KYS-Tech’s remote online notary platform (RON), enables companies to meet eNotary documentation standards across industries and securely verify the identity of signers.

“We are living in unprecedented times,” said Sanjay Gupta, Mitek Vice President. “Digital transformation is now a matter of thriving, not just surviving. Companies that formerly transacted primarily in person have been forced to embrace a digital-first approach to business operations. At Mitek, we are honored to partner with KYS-Tech to offer the most secure notary services available today.”

Mitek’s Background

In its early days, Mitek was a reseller of government equipment. During that time period, the company also came across optical character recognition (OCR) technology, which the company invested in.

As a publicly traded company with a 30 year history, one of Mitek’s standout products is the mobile check deposits, which gives users the ability to use their phone to take a picture of the check and get it deposited in their checking account. The company currently deals with 95% of U.S. banks, which is approximately 7,000 financial institutions.

However, around seven years ago, Mitek repurposed the technology to encompass driver’s licenses, IDs and passports. Since then, AI algorithms have also been built to look at different areas of the document to determine if it’s a real document or not.

Currently, Mitek’s flagship product is Mobile Verify, a digital identity verification service that integrates with many products in the Mitek ecosystem.

Using Mobile Verify Within KYS-Tech

KYS-Tech services virtually notarizes files online, helping to reduce the time and cost required to execute company documents. With Mobile Verify, KYS-Tech users can submit a picture of their driver’s license or other government-issued ID document along with answering a few questions to determine the authenticity of the user and their identity. This ensures clients that sensitive documents are only shared, signed and notarized with verified parties.

“Mitek is a global leader in mobile capture and digital identity verification known for its strict adherence to current compliance and regulatory requirements and certification,” says Terry Van Bibber, KYS-Tech founder and CEO. “Mitek allows KYS-Tech to analyze government identity documents in the market, including hundreds in the U.S. alone. This professionalism, expertise and support allows us to provide unparalleled service to any business needing notarial services.”

With pandemic-driven changes redefining how daily life is lived for many people, it is clear that a fast-paced digital transformation is inevitable. As new digital solutions for identity verification are developed, the possibilities for secure remote productivity and living increase immensely.

ABOUT THE WRITER

Serena He is a Tech Innovation Fellow from the University of Southern California who is interested in AI and the intersection of design and technology. She enjoys covering news across the digital identity and tech space.