Manual ID card checks cannot keep pace with sophisticated forgeries
In H1 2024, global regulators issued 80 fines totalling $263 million to financial institutions for KYC failures, with insufficient document verification cited in the majority of cases (Finanscrime International, 2024). Generative AI tools have lowered the barrier to producing convincing fake ID cards, making visual inspection increasingly unreliable. Manual ID processing takes 10-25 minutes per document and carries a human error rate of 8-15 % — unacceptable at onboarding volumes of hundreds of customers per week.
How CheckFile authenticates ID cards for UK banks
OCR and MRZ extraction
Automatic extraction of data fields, Machine-Readable Zone (MRZ) parsing per ICAO 9303, cross-validation of visual and digital data, and expiry date verification for all EEA national identity cards.
AI forgery detection
Analysis of country-specific security features (laser engraving, guilloché patterns, UV-reactive elements), detection of digital alterations on photo or data fields, and calibration to 27 EU member state ID templates.
MLR 2017 and eIDAS 2.0 compliance
Controls aligned with Money Laundering Regulations 2017 (regulation 28), JMLSG Part I Chapter 5 on electronic verification, and the eIDAS 2.0 Regulation (EU 2024/1183) on electronic identification assurance levels.
Manual ID card verification vs CheckFile
| Capability | Manual process | CheckFile |
|---|---|---|
| Processing time | 10-25 minutes | < 4 seconds |
| Automatic MRZ parsing | ||
| Forgery and alteration detection | ||
| Expiry date validation | Manual check | Automatic |
| Full FCA audit trail | ||
| EU ID card coverage | Limited | 27 EU countries |