Caller Authentication: Idura Launches New Identity Solution with MobilePay

In the future, when Danes call, say, their doctor or insurance company, they may be asked if they want to use MobilePay to verify who they are.

This is possible because Idura is launching a new solution that allows companies to verify a customer's identity directly in MobilePay or MitID during a phone call.

Today, people are often still asked to provide their address, date of birth, previous payments, and so on when they call customer service. But these methods have become more insecure.

Artificial intelligence makes it possible to mimic human voices, and personal information can now be leaked or purchased online. This means fraudsters can call a company and pretend to be a customer.

With the new solution, the company can send the customer a smartphone notification, letting the customer confirm their identity directly in MobilePay. MobilePay is used by around 4.7 million Danes.

"Every day, thousands of Danes use MobilePay because it is a simple and easy way to pay. We have chosen to make MobilePay available for Caller Authentication because it is a safe way to identify yourself. Security is high in MobilePay, and it is impossible for criminals to pretend to be a specific MobilePay user without having control over both the phone and the user. Therefore, it makes sense to use MobilePay to verify your identity when talking to a company," says Jeanette Hertzum, Country Manager at MobilePay.

MitID can also be used
For many Danes, MobilePay will be the easiest way to verify their identity during a call, because the app can send a direct notification to the phone.

But it will also be possible to use MitID. Here, the user will have to manually open the MitID app and approve the request. This can be more difficult for many in the middle of a conversation.

This is because MitID does not use notifications for security reasons. There is a risk that a user gets a notification and approves an identity request without paying attention, even when they're not in a conversation with a customer center.

The Lack of user-friendliness can be a challenge for some Danes. A new survey from DaneAge in February shows that almost a third of Danes, especially the elderly, still experience problems with digital self-service solutions like MitID.

On the other hand, MitID will continue to be used in situations with higher security requirements, such as when a bank customer needs to approve a loan or similar.

Expecting rapid deployment
The solution has already been launched in Norway and builds on experience from Sweden, where digital identification in phone conversations has been widely used by banks, insurance companies, public authorities, and large service organizations.

Idura's CEO expects the solution to roll out quickly in Denmark.

"In Sweden, it's standard in most call centers today. In the Danish business community, there is a real concern about the ability of artificial intelligence to mimic people's voices, so we expect most larger companies with customer service centers to adopt it within a few years," says Niels Flensted-Jensen.

In Denmark, similar solutions have so far required major custom integrations and individual development projects. With Idura's launch, the technology is available as a standardized software solution for the first time.