Authentify
Authentify® is identity verification service provided by Early Warning through banks to verify their customer’s identity with the Relying Party(RP) website. Authentify® allows customers to use services that require multiple identity checkpoints instantly, without waiting for identity proof. The service validates a person’s identifying traits and verifies they really are who they claim to be.
Company / Early Warning
Year / 2021
Why Authentify®
Businesses in every industry today are moving to digital models. From banking, to shopping, to travel. Companies are using digital infrastructure to connect people with what they want and need right now.
Many businesses are still relying on antiquated physical identity checks. Traditionally, it’s required to upload an ID document (Driver’s License or Passport) which puts the process on hold till the documents are being verified.
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With Authentify® takes only a few taps for the user to transfer their already verified information. Which in turn speeds up the process and removes obstacles such as geographical boundaries.
The information is encrypted and secured by Blockchain to prevent customer’s sensitive data from getting into the wrong hands.
Early Warning is partnering with banks (Chase, Bank of America,Wells Fargo, CITI, US Bank and Capital One) to offer the service through their apps (via mSDK) and websites. Authentify® will provide identity verification to the companies in the Network, such as Aetna, DocuSign, etc.
The Challenge
The biggest challenge of this project was unifying partnering banks as well as relying on all parties to produce a cohesive UX experience. It took many hours of joint meetings and a number of iterations to make sure the product was viable and ready to be implemented within each environment. All this while still keeping to each bank's internal security guidelines.
Another big obstacle was creating a consistent experience throughout Relying Party (RP) websites and apps. Considering that each RP website has a unique flow and may ask for the identity verification on different stages, Authentify® UI placement has to efficiently adapt for each experience. We also had to take in account the system limitations. Some UI is not easily adjustable and it can be difficult to accommodate for space or another element on the page. Taking all of the above into consideration, we decided to make the button customizable.
Speaking with the potential customers we discovered that there’s a lot of hesitations around providing bank credentials and sharing the personal information online. We created and tested a large number of different ideas around our design and messages. In the result we were able to improve the rate in which the user would select Authentify® and feel more confident around the information share and data security.
Another challenge is transferring the user from desktop to their mobile device to complete the flow. Based on our research, the user is more likely to open a new account using desktop vs. mobile device. Since account opening was a primary use case for our product, we had to figure out what to do if the user starts the experience on desktop. If their bank supports only in app experience (mSDK), they will have to continue to their mobile device. We resolved this issue by introducing a QR code that acts as a link between two devices.
Research
The customer research validated the idea for the product. The participants of the study saw digital identity as a “necessary function of the modern world”.
Their spoken, functional needs indicated their unspoken, emotional need, which is feeling of safety and protection of their identity. The participants indicated that they almost never feel fully secure and security was top of the mind for nearly all participants.
They also indicated that Financial Institutions are the expected product source for their identity.
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After reviewing and analyzing the responses across 50 in-depth interviews and 32 focus group participants, three user personas have been established that can represent initial target users. These profiles reflect the needs, attitudes, behaviors and preferences of potential users to target.
My Role
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Research
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Ideation
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Wireframing
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Flow Charts and Sitemaps
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Documentation
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Low and High Fidelity Prototyping
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UI Design
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Video Production
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Interaction and Motion
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FI Certification and processes
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Strategy and prioritization
I led the design from the ideation stage to the launch of the product.
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During the conceptual stage I had an opportunity to collaborate with the VP of Marketing and Content Strategist to produce commercial videos to create a partner excitement. This effort led to raising funds for the product.
Organized and participated in the user research to determine validity of the product and later refining and improvements to the experience.
Participated in the work group with partnering banks to ensure collaboration and mutual agreement on the goal setting for the product and release dates.
Prepared the product for the first release and shaped the strategic priorities of the product in close collaboration with teams, including UX Researchers, Content Strategists, Architects and Developers, Product Mangers, Marketing, Legal and Security.
The Challenge
The biggest challenge of this project was unifying partnering banks as well as relying on all parties to produce a cohesive UX experience. It took many hours of joint meetings and a number of iterations to make sure the product was viable and ready to be implemented within each environment. All this while still keeping to each bank's internal security guidelines.
Another big obstacle was creating a consistent experience throughout Relying Party (RP) websites and apps. Considering that each RP website has a unique flow and may ask for the identity verification on different stages, Authentify® UI placement has to efficiently adapt for each experience. We also had to take in account the system limitations. Some UI is not easily adjustable and it can be difficult to accommodate for space or another element on the page. Taking all of the above into consideration, we decided to make the button customizable.
Speaking with the potential customers we discovered that there’s a lot of hesitations around providing bank credentials and sharing the personal information online. We created and tested a large number of different ideas around our design and messages. In the result we were able to improve the rate in which the user would select Authentify® and feel more confident around the information share and data security.
Another challenge is transferring the user from desktop to their mobile device to complete the flow. Based on our research, the user is more likely to open a new account using desktop vs. mobile device. Since account opening was a primary use case for our product, we had to figure out what to do if the user starts the experience on desktop. If their bank supports only in app experience (mSDK), they will have to continue to their mobile device. We resolved this issue by introducing a QR code that acts as a link between two devices.
Concept Video
The concept video was produced in collaboration with an outside production agency Epipheo. Teaming up with the Content Strategist we conducted ideation sessions and produced storyboards for the video. After making the rounds across the teams we made edits and worked with the Producer from Epipheo to get everything ready for production. To make sure everything was done the way we envisioned I traveled to the filming location in Cincinnati and worked directly with the Director and Crew during the shoot.
Animations
The animations were used to inform the user that the transfer of their information is in progress. The content of the animation were selected intentionally to represent the encryption, transfer and receiving the data. A number of user testing helped to guide and develop the animation. However, a as result of the backend changes the time of the information transfer drastically decreased to being almost instantaneous. The animations were removed from the experience.
Developer portal
To make it easy for the Identity Providers (ex. banks, ADP) and Relying Parties (ex. DocusSign, Airbnb) to try out the product, we’re working on developing a Portal where developers can access necessary information. It will be a part of the Single Sign On (SSO) Portal where, eventually, will be found other portals like Marketing and Support.
Here are some examples of the early Dev Portal development.
