"Thanks to PXL Vision, we’ve done more than just simplify the identity verification process. We’ve also significantly raised our quality levels. That was precisely our goal.”
Fabian Baldinger, Swiss Life Switzerland
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PXL Vision for Swiss Life
Since the end of 2020, Swiss Life has been using PXL Vision’s solution to establish the identity of its new and existing customers. The collaboration makes the process of verifying customer identities more reliable. This simplifies the process for employees and protects confidential customer data.
The company
Swiss Life is a provider of comprehensive pension and financial solutions. With its individual pension and financial advice, it accompanies people in all situations to prepare their financial future and supports them in leading a self-determined life.
The task
Until the introduction of the PXL Vision solution in 2020, the required identification of customers when concluding an insurance contract was largely carried out in the same way. To meet their due diligence obligations with regard to Swiss laws on the prevention of money laundering and terrorist financing, advisors had to scan the applicant’s ID on a copier, print out the ID copy together with all documents, stamp it and sign it.
”This process was prone to error. The copies were often poor. Expired IDs were not recognized, and there were privacy issues when photos of customer IDs remained stored on advisors’ smartphones. That’s why our compliance department was pushing for reform,“ says Fabian Baldinger, Business Analyst and Project Manager of Private Clients at Swiss Life, describing the challenges that led the group to look for a digital and largely automated process.
”It was crucial for us not to go to a provider whose solution, as a first mover, would first require us to cure the teething problems,“ Baldinger emphasizes. Four companies participated in a tender, from which PXL Vision, the Swiss market leader for secure, fully automated identity verification based on artificial intelligence, emerged as the winner.
The solution
For Swiss Life, it is crucial that the personal data on the application matches that of the applicant. ”Particularly in the case of life insurance, depending on the product and contractual partner, the correct recording of the date of birth, gender and nationality is of special importance, as this is what the calculation of the policy is based on,“ Baldinger explains. In addition, it must be taken into account that Swiss regulation requires insurers to ensure that employees of the company have seen the original identification document for the purpose of customer identification. Depending on the product and the status of the insured person, this is legally required for a large number of applications.
Together with Swiss Life, PXL Vision developed a process that takes into account all the necessary requirements. At the core of the process is the smartphone app ”ID Easy“, which runs smoothly on both Android and iOS.
The insurance or investment application now contains a QR code that the employee scans with their smartphone camera. This is how the assignment to the appropriate application is made. In addition, the QR code is also displayed in the corresponding application system, which means that the advisor can also scan the QR code from the screen. All persons to be identified as part of the contract conclusion process – i.e. including authorized representatives or legal guardians, if applicable – are now displayed in the app. The advisor is guided intuitively through the process. To scan Swiss or European ID cards, passports, foreigners’ ID cards in credit card format or Swiss driver’s licenses, the camera automatically switches to landscape format and the document’s data is read. If the document also contains a reverse side, this must also be captured.
In the next step, the smartphone app checks the data and compares it with that on the application. The app indicates any discrepancies with a message. If there are differences, the process can be repeated or the data can be sent to Swiss Life for further checking with the deviations that arise, for example, due to special characters in the name. If the data has been successfully transmitted to the head office, all data is automatically deleted from the phone. No further authenticated copies need to be submitted. Foreigner IDs in paper form can also be recorded via the mobile app and sent for further processing.
The new solution from PXL Vision has been in use since November 2020. Since then, thousands of applications have been processed with the app. For Baldinger, the advantages are obvious: ”Not only is the identity verification process greatly simplified. We have also significantly increased the quality. That was exactly our goal.“ In addition, advisors regain valuable time for customer meetings. It is also easier for the consumer with the use of PXL Vision. Since the data is now recorded consistently and centrally, re-identification may not be necessary for further applications.
Technically, Swiss Life chose PXL Vision’s white label solution which integrates all identity verification modules into a purpose-built user environment for web and mobile service,“ says Karim Nemr, Chief Business Officer at PXL Vision. Baldinger is particularly pleased that “PXL Vision offers a compelling solution with an excellent feature set at a reasonable price. This won over our management immediately.“ The PXL Vision solution was integrated into the SAP system landscape at Swiss Life shortly thereafter.
Based on the positive experience, Swiss Life intends to expand its cooperation with PXL Vision.