WIREDGOV

ID verification challenges for Lambeth Council: In the past, Lambeth Council relied on citizens to provide proof of their identity to validate their claims and verify eligibility for services applied for to minimise and prevent fraud.

Of course, not everyone holds identification. Even for those with identification, some applicants are unable to get to Lambeth’s offices to present it, or able to acquire photocopies of their ID due to lack of support and vulnerability.

Additionally, Lambeth only provides front of house services for vulnerable users and, as a consequence, needed an alternative way to validate identity.

There were also concerns that the requirement for manual ID checks was significantly lengthening the user journey, when most low and most medium risk claims could go to payment straight away.

Working with Melissa to deliver know your citizen (KYC) / ID checks and prevent fraud: To securely speed up the process of identity verification for those claiming Housing Benefit and Council Tax Support Lambeth started using Melissa’s automated electronic ID verification (eIDV) service in April 2022.

Outcome: Using this automated eIDV service claimants’ name, address and date of birth are all matched and verified in real-time. All other information is verified by Lambeth’s in-house systems, such as CIS and VEP. 

Additionally, all KYC, anti-money laundering (AML) and compliance requirements are met using this service.

Mairéad Brophy, Performance Manager, Digital & Data, Residents & Enabling Services at Lambeth Council, commented:

“Moving from manual to automated ID checks using Melissa’s eIDV service has brought with it a huge number of benefits….
… “Now, more than ever, we are very confident in our ability to prevent fraud and protect tight budgets, all at a lower cost compared to when we implemented manual ID checks”

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