Currently, customers face perpetual threats related to data and financial fraud. Most organizations (banks and companies) rely on third-party (agent) networks to provide customer services related to information sharing - KYC/documents, and financial transactions - payments/recoveries.

These agents are employed by vendors who, in turn, are hired by the organization to conduct the above activities and act on their behalf. Due to this arrangement, customers need to be reassured of the authenticity of the agents assigned to them for a specific purpose.

But the organizations utilize a vast feet-on-street workforce spread across geographies and affected by factors like high attrition rates and new recruitments. This leads to several challenges, which can be an operational and security nightmare for the organization.

Challenges faced by organizations in Agent Authentication and Authorization

  • Ensuring physical issuance of cards to every agent
  • Recovering the issued card when the agent leaves the vendor
  • Managing lost and stolen cards

Organizations must have adequate controls to ensure zero misuse of authority, provide customer security and build customer trust. This is important for enhancing brand image and increasing customer confidence around security and fraud prevention.

So how can an organization pull this off accurately and sustainably at scale?

Virtual ID Generation by Quickwork

Let’s look at the process flow on the day of the customer visit.

  • The agent logs a request for a Virtual ID in the messaging platform.
  • The Quickwork platform will verify the credentials with the client system and check to see if the agent is still an employee of the vendor and if his details match the records.
  • After authenticating, the platform will issue a Virtual ID that authorizes the agent to represent the organization in customer interactions related to information sharing or transactions like loan payments or debt recoveries.
  • The Virtual ID displays the agent’s photo and expiry date.

Now let’s look at how Virtual ID generation and issuance works behind the scenes.

  • Vendor/Agent Management - The platform provides the ability to easily add or delete vendors and their employees (agents) in real-time using a) an Excel file upload or b) a dashboard, or c) integration with the people management system (HRMS).

  • ID Validity - The validity of the issued Virtual ID can be configured in the platform based on a) defined timelines as per organizational policies, b) defined purpose c) defined events.

  • ID Management - The platform provides complete control to manage IDs, their deletion or non-generation, thus eliminating the need for surrendering the ID (reverse logistics).

Benefits of Virtual ID over Physical ID

  1. Virtual IDs are generated post-authentication with the Employee Master in real-time. Physical IDs are issued post-verification with a manual list/system which may not be updated and thus prone to errors.
  2. A Virtual ID is temporary and revocable. It is configurable for validity to address the concern around customer security. However, the surrender/revocation of a Physical ID is time-consuming and not in the organization’s control, especially with terminated or absconding agents who may potentially misuse the IDs.
  3. Virtual ID Generation is an automated, efficient and secure process triggered each time an agent logs a request. Physical ID issuance is a manual, time-consuming, error-prone process with dire consequences if something fails.
  4. Virtual ID Generation is a customizable and flexible solution which can be used on any of these Messaging Platforms - Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp, PWA or even SMS.
  5. The infrastructure in use for Virtual ID Generation is secure and compliant to meet the regulatory requirements of organizations.

Virtual ID Generation by Quickwork provides an efficient approach to help companies authorize and manage customer access, especially for outsourced/temporary resources.

It fundamentally addresses the problem of authentication and authorization of people who work for the organization but don’t belong to it.

To explore this solution for your business teams, contact [email protected] and [email protected] for details/demo.