Steve Borza
CEO, Bluink
Alex Longval
Marketing and Community Director, Bluink
Identity verification solutions are essential for preventing online fraud, but not all solutions are created equally.
Online fraud is exploding. Digital services are convenient but risky, with fraud in real estate, tax returns, benefits, and banking, causing millions in losses and stress for citizens. Identity verification tools are essential, but many providers store or ship personal data outside Canada, creating privacy risks.
Bluink is a Canadian-built, privacy-first identity verification alternative. It offers fast, remote verification and doesn’t retain personal information, making it a top choice for Canadian businesses and government organizations eager to protect their organization’s security and their clients’ privacy.
Mediaplanet spoke with Bluink CEO Steve Borza and Marketing and Community Director Alex Longval to learn why identity verification is so critical and how Bluink’s eID-Me is helping protect Canadians.
Why is identity verification such a pressing issue for Canadian organizations today?
Steve Borza: COVID brought many traditionally face-to-face processes online, resulting in an explosion of fraud, from people having their houses stolen, to benefits fraud, to car leasing fraud. It costs millions to the Canadian economy and can be very distressing to individuals who are victims of identity theft. Being able to strongly verify identities online makes society safer and services more efficient, by allowing secure digital transformations, versus requiring in person service delivery.
Alex Longval: As businesses make more services available online, fraudsters follow. You have to counteract that with secure identity verification, and that’s what we provide.
What makes Bluink’s eID-Me app different from other ID verification solutions on the market?
SB: Our mantra is processing Canadians’ information in Canadian data centres. Your personal information never leaves Canada when verified by Bluink.
AL: We build and develop all of our ID verification technology in-house, so we control the process end to end. Nothing is outsourced.
SB: We comply with Canadian privacy laws. Once we verify you, we delete all your information. You’re the only one in control of your personal information, in an eID-Me digital wallet, on your phone, and it’s up to you when and with whom to share it.
Some competitors retain selfies and ID photos to build databases of so-called “bad actors.” That’s highly problematic. We don’t want to be anywhere near that kind of operating structure.
Our service also provides a mobile driver’s licence for added convenience.
How can businesses and governments benefit from adopting eID-Me?
SB: There are so many ways. We provide identity verification for Canada Post to strengthen consumer digital experiences. In the real estate market, our verification system caught a fraudulent $1 million transaction. That was a significant win in stopping identity theft and fraud. One of our larger financial services clients has basically seen no known fraud since they implemented us. We can’t do better than that for eliminating fraud.
AL: We’ve got strong fraud prevention, fraud detection, and security and privacy measures. That’s why the largest title insurer in Canada uses Bluink identity verification to build their clients’ trust and detect fraud.
Learn more at bluink.ca/eid-me/solutions/id-verification.
