As organizations increasingly rely on self-service and interactive kiosks to reduce staffing demands and move lines quickly, they must also think carefully about the range of transactions a kiosk can handle.
Fortunately, ID authentication technology is expanding the range of capabilities for kiosks, making it possible for these unstaffed stations to help patrons with enrollment, check-in and check-out, building access, cash transactions, and more.
What Does a Modern Kiosk Look Like?
Many people envision a retail self-checkout station or an ATM when they think of a self-service kiosk, but kiosk manufacturers and software integrators have made far more “lightweight” installations possible. Kiosk applications exist that use a simple mount for a camera-equipped laptop or can simply sit on a desk.
Even with the addition of an ID card reader or a badge printer, a kiosk station with very sophisticated ID authentication capabilities can be installed for far less cost and with a smaller footprint than many imagine. This kiosk technology can be easily deployed at more sites and for more purposes than you might assume.
How Casinos are Leading the Way with Self-Service Kiosks
Casinos provide a useful example of an industry that uses self-service kiosks with ID authentication for many purposes. Kiosks are a main point of enrollment for many casino players’ clubs. At these stations, a player can simply insert his or her ID into a document reader, and the kiosk software can extract the data to populate enrollment forms.
At the same time, software can perform facial matching to confirm the person standing at the kiosk is the same person whose image is on the ID. The player’s name can also be checked against any watch lists. The ID is also of course authenticated, meaning it is verified against a global document database to confirm the presence of its security features, and a match between the data on the front and back of the card.
All of these security steps can be completed simultaneously within a matter of 10 seconds, making players’ club enrollment fast and simple for casino guests, while helping the casino maintain regulatory compliance and high security. The technology can also be applied at redemption kiosks within casinos to validate the identity of the person presenting a ticket to cash out or request a cash advance with a credit card. In these applications, the ID check at the kiosk helps reduce a significant and costly fraud risk for the casino.
ID Authentication with Interactive Teller Machines
Some industries, including banking and car rentals, could also benefit from using the technology in an interactive teller kiosk application. The interactive teller machine uses video chat to connect a staff member with a customer standing at the kiosk.
Applying ID authentication and facial matching to these kiosks makes them a more powerful tool against fraud, enables the organization to streamline staffing, and still gives patrons the ability to interact with a real person to ask questions and complete more complex transactions.
Access Control Without Receptionists or Security Guards
As described in our article on critical infrastructure security, badging and access control procedures at many facilities could benefit from stronger security. However, with kiosks, stronger security doesn’t have to mean more staffing demands.
With an access control installation, a patron can approach a kiosk that uses facial matching technology to determine if they are enrolled in the system. If they are already enrolled, they are granted access; if the system finds no match, the patron can insert their ID card and enroll with their ID data and facial image. This concept can be applied at many access control points, even incorporating lists of scheduled visitors, banned visitors, and more.
It is still a common practice at many facilities staffed by security guards to ask visitors to hand over an ID card or passport when they enter, which is given back to them when they check out upon leaving the premises. This practice presents obvious challenges, including the demands it places on staff time, as well as introducing the possibility that a visitor will forget their ID. By using a facial matching kiosk at the exit, organizations can eliminate this resource-intensive practice and still keep accurate logs of the visitors currently on site.
The Kiosk Customer Experience
Executives sometimes have concerns about the customer experience when swapping out staff members for kiosks, but in a well-designed application, most customers do not mind and may even appreciate the efficiency of working with the kiosk. Given recent public health concerns, there is a widespread understanding of the need to minimize face-to-face contact. Kiosk software coaches the user through their required steps with very minimal friction, and in many applications a staff member is still available nearby to assist if required.
Speed to Market for Kiosk Software with ID Authentication
Speed of implementation is often a customer concern, and this is especially true now—when many companies are prioritizing kiosk installation to reduce face-to-face contact between staff and patrons. Veridocs’ technologies can be integrated as quickly as within 30 days, making it possible to apply a kiosk solution very quickly.
Increased efficiency is a goal for many organizations, and not just during a pandemic. Self-service kiosks with ID authentication capabilities are making it possible for leaders in many industries to deploy highly efficient and secure solutions for serving their customers and visitors, without the need for more staff. If you are interested in how Veridocs’ technologies could be applied in your kiosk application, contact us.
Published: 4/2/2020