In travel, the theory and practice of digital transformation has now shifted to incorporate the growing importance of mobile, which offers travelers convenience, in a context they are familiar with. Meanwhile, brands are embracing sales, marketing and service opportunities which simply did not exist before smartphones became mainstream.

However, mobile presents a number of challenges which need to be overcome in order to deliver that convenience, with fraud and security increasingly front of mind for users and suppliers.

New technologies are leading the fight against fraud and are the enabler of a secure transaction process, with digital identity verification emerging as a vital component in the online relationship between a customer and a company. Specialists in digital identity verification are helping organizations across industries – and increasingly travel – move beyond increasingly insecure “user name and password” methods.

Apple’s latest smartphone, the iPhoneX, uses a proprietary facial recognition tool, FaceID, to secure the phone, bringing familiarity and trust in facial recognition to millions of smartphone owners. The advocacy and approval of a consumer tech giant such as Apple introduces facial recognition to the mobile user mainstream.

Elsewhere, initiatives such as IATA’s OneID and the World Economic Forum’s Known Traveller include facial recognition software as a key component of their long-term vision for seamless and secure travel.

The technology is already exerting its influence within travel. Digital identity verification is a pre-requisite for many of the innovative consumer-facing initiatives in the hotel and airline sectors. Remote check-in for flights and keyless room access in hotels are gaining traction with today’s traveler and are among the many features that become an option once the airline or hotel has verified the identity of the passenger or guest.

Verifying identities online and via mobile in a seamless way can help build trust between users in the sharing economy, where trust is arguably the brands’ largest asset, albeit an intangible one. Conversely, it can help protect the physical assets of traditional car rental firms from theft or damage.

Digital identity verification in travel will be under the spotlight in a tnooz webinar, sponsored by Mitek Systems. A panel of experts will discuss how digital identity verification works, the benefits it can bring to travel brands in the short, medium and long term, and some use cases from the industry to provide a context.

The webinar takes place on Tuesday 27 February at 8am Pacific Time, 11am Eastern, 4pm GMT, 5pm CET etc.