Trusted identities needed in sharing economy
31 May, 2016
category: Biometrics, Corporate, Digital ID, Financial
The sharing economy may be small but it’s growing — be it renting an apartment, buying something on Craig’s List or agreeing to a car sharing arrangement – it is a new way of doing business for some.
Depending on the task participation in this new economy is low depending on the task, 6.2% for renting a personal item to another individual but 42% for buying or selling something on Craig’s List, according to a survey sponsored by HooYu and conducted by Atomik Research via Power of Opinions, using an online survey amongst 1,000 consumers in U.S.
Participation in some sectors of the sharing economy may be low because of a lack of trust. Some 41% of respondents would want to know the identity of someone they were renting their property out to beforehand and 40% would want to know the identity of a babysitter or tutor for their children.
Only a small percentage of people are happy to trust. Taking into account all types of sharing economy transactions across both regions, on average, 8% of consumers are happy to jump straight into a sharing economy transaction without worrying about the identity of the other party in the transaction being confirmed.
Taking into account all types of sharing economy transactions across the U.S. and UK, on average, 34% of consumers will not at all conduct a sharing economy transaction without having assurance about the identity of the other party in the transaction.
Identity verification may be one step that can help the sharing economy grow. HooYu is an identity verification company that confirms the identity of individual’s in this sharing economy. The company uses many different identity attributes, including social media, digital footprints, identity documents and facial biometrics to confirm identity.
The company analyses data from a person’s digital footprint to confirm their real-world identity and extracts and verifies data from ID documents and conducts a biometric facial check comparing a selfie of the customer with the facial image on their ID document. HooYu charges $9.99 for one check and $75 for 10.
