Most shoppers won't mind completing a quick identity check if it helps keep their account or purchase secure. But ask them to upload their ID multiple times, struggle through confusing instructions, or wait too long to complete checkout, and they might give up altogether.
The key is to only ask customers to verify their identity when it's actually necessary. And when you do need an extra check, make the process as easy as possible. Give customers clear instructions and make it easy to try again.
This way, you can manage fraud risks without frustrating genuine buyers or losing sales.
Identity verification solutions like GBG, Persona and Trulioo can help e-commerce businesses strike that balance.
Making every customer go through a lengthy verification process can quickly hurt your conversion rates. People want to shop, not spend ages proving who they are. And if signing up or checking out becomes too complicated, they might simply go elsewhere.
Here are four common ways identity verification can create unnecessary friction.
Asking for too much, too soon. Not every customer needs to upload a passport, driver's license, or selfie. In many cases, you can verify their identity using existing data sources without asking them to do anything extra. More thorough checks might make sense for higher-risk or higher-value transactions, but requiring them for every purchase can put genuine shoppers off.
Making customers repeat themselves. Imagine entering all your details, only to be told you need to start again because one check couldn't confirm your identity. Instead of sending customers back to square one, your system should be able to check alternative data sources first. That way, shoppers only need to step in when there's genuinely something else to verify.
Read more: How data verification powers fast, secure onboarding
Leaving shoppers waiting. Nobody wants to wait around for someone to manually approve their purchase or account. Automating routine checks through automated KYC decisioning can help keep things moving, while more complicated cases can be passed to your team for review. The goal is to resolve simple cases quickly and only involve staff when they're actually needed.
We'll start with a deep dive into our own platform, GBG Go, before covering other identity verification providers worth checking out.
First impressions matter, especially when someone is shopping with you for the first time. If creating an account or completing a purchase involves too many steps, customers might start questioning whether they want to do business with you at all.
As GBG’s Darren Neil puts it, “It might be the best product in the world and the best company in the world. If it’s a nightmare to onboard, you instantly lose faith with what you do.”
That's why it's worth making identity verification as quick and simple as possible (while preventing fraud).
GBG is a global identity verification and KYC provider that helps businesses verify customers while keeping unnecessary checks to a minimum. Its orchestration platform, GBG Go, brings identity data checks, document verification and biometric authentication together, so you don't need a separate tool for every type of check.
And importantly, not every customer has to go through the same process. With GBG Go, you can build dynamic verification flows that adapt to each customer's information and risk signals. Someone whose identity can be confirmed through a simple data check can move straight through. If something doesn't add up, you can introduce an extra step, such as an ID upload or selfie.
In many cases, customers won't need to upload any documents at all. GBG can check their name, date of birth and address against trusted public and private records, with identity data coverage spanning 4.4 billion people worldwide. Email, mobile and IP intelligence can also help flag suspicious activity in the background, without interrupting checkout.
There's also GBG Trust, which uses cross-industry fraud intelligence to identify patterns that might otherwise go unnoticed. For example, it can help spot multiple accounts being created in quick succession or the same identity details appearing across suspicious registrations.
And if a customer does need to verify their ID, GBG's Smart Capture ID helps make that process easier, too. It provides real-time guidance if a photo is blurry, poorly framed, or affected by glare, giving shoppers a better chance of getting it right the first time.
The result is a more flexible verification process: quick and simple for genuine shoppers, with additional checks when there's a reason to investigate more.
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What customers care about |
Relevant GBG capability |
What to look at in a demonstration |
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Not being asked for a document when it isn't needed |
Which customers can be verified using information they've already given? |
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Getting past an inconclusive data check |
Alternative data sources and waterfalling |
Can another source settle the result without making the customer re-enter anything? |
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Completing a stronger identity check |
Document verification, facial matching and passive liveness |
What instructions, camera interactions and customer actions does the capture experience involve? |
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Submitting a usable document image |
Smart Capture ID provides live feedback on glare, blur and document framing before submission |
What guidance appears when image quality is poor, and can the customer correct the problem without restarting verification? |
Here are two other options worth evaluating for identity verification for e-commerce:
Persona offers configurable identity verification workflows and user-facing collection experiences, with a strong focus on giving you control over how verification screens look and feel to your customers.
You can tailor which information shoppers provide based on triggers like order value or account activity, which lets you build distinct collection flows for different interactions and keep low-risk transactions fast.
Trulioo provides identity verification through an extensive global network of data sources, alongside document and biometric verification services. You can use its data-driven verification to confirm customer details across international markets.
When an initial data lookup is inconclusive, or a transaction carries higher risk, additional document-based checks can be triggered to establish stronger identity assurance.
To see how you can verify genuine buyers without impacting sales, schedule a demo with GBG.
E-commerce stores can reduce drop-off by verifying customer details through background data checks first, using information supplied during checkout. By reserving document uploads and selfies strictly for high-risk transactions or inconclusive data matches, most buyers complete their purchase without extra steps.
Document verification should be reserved for higher-risk moments. Common triggers include unusually high order values, account recovery requests, purchases of regulated goods requiring strict age verification, or when background data checks return conflicting risk signals.
*Disclaimer: Information relating to third-party products and companies referenced in this article is based on publicly available sources and official publications at the time of writing.
While reasonable efforts have been made to ensure accuracy, product features, positioning and company information may change and GBG does not guarantee that all information remains current or complete. Nothing in this article constitutes an endorsement, recommendation or ranking of any third-party provider. Readers should consult each provider’s official website and conduct their own assessment before making any purchasing decisions.
To request an update or correction, please contact press@gbg.com.
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