Interview IDnow: "Corona has accelerated seamless digital processes"

VM: How do you see the development of the mobility market and the associated online tools in general over the past 12-24 months?

Few industries are currently undergoing such significant transformation as the mobility sector. Technological developments and the demand for environmentally friendly and sustainable transportation alternatives are driving the enormous changes in the mobility industry and continuously bringing forth new business models. The trend is clearly moving towards more flexible mobility solutions with shorter terms (Car Sharing, subscription models).

People, especially in cities, want to own a vehicle much less than in the past. They increasingly rely on flexible usage.

Some mobility concepts, including Car Sharing, experienced a temporary slump in recent months due to the corona pandemic. Other business models, however, including car subscriptions, were able to grow considerably, even under the special circumstances in the crisis year 2020.

In general, and almost industry independently, we see that the past year with the demands for social distancing made seamless digital processes even more important, and digital identification solutions, like the ones we offer with our platform, play a crucial role.

VM: In your view, are there business areas with particularly strong growth, such as Car Sharing, and where do you expect strong growth?

Particularly flexible car subscription models are becoming increasingly popular. Strong growth is expected in this area in the coming years. However, in the area of micromobility, i.e., covering short distances with small and light vehicles, more and more providers are entering the market and opening up more and more cities with their offerings. Examples include e-scooters or e-mopeds.

In addition to the straightforward and direct use of the vehicles, fleet protection from the provider's perspective is an important reason to rely on digital KYC solutions.

VM: You recently partnered with M-TRIBES. What competencies are being bundled here? What exactly does the package entail?

In this cooperation, two specialists come together and combine their products, services, and solutions. On one side is the M-TOOLS technology platform from M-TRIBES, which serves as a basis for delivery, courier, and ride-hailing services, as well as for the operation of station-based and free-floating vehicle sharing solutions. On the IDnow side, digital identification is provided with all conceivable identification variants, which are used depending on the application – for example, the age or validity of ID or driver's license documents can be legally confirmed. Together, we offer a comprehensive solution in the market, allowing companies, for example in the areas of car sharing, car rental, urban mobility (including free-floating sharing of scooters, e-scooters, e-bikes), or fleet management, to implement legally verified user identification.

VM: What opportunities arise from the extended scope of the cooperation with M-TRIBES – both for you and especially for your customers?

In addition to the classic identity and driver's license verification with our platform, more complex business models can be supported in principle. The IDnow platform also enables electronic signatures to sign leasing and/or financing contracts, for example. This requires observing additional legal regulations compared to using a service or a vehicle. We can also seamlessly support this with our identification solutions.

VM: M-TRIBES describes itself as an internationally operating company, as does IDnow. In which regions/markets will you jointly offer the solution?

Currently, we work with M-TRIBES in the DACH region. However, since our identification solutions have very high worldwide coverage, such as capturing and verifying driver's licenses and ID documents in 193 countries, we also enable our customers to pursue global growth opportunities.

VM: Are there different requirements in the international mobility markets, or is user behavior, which international companies should consider, perhaps even different?

Indeed, significant differences exist in the global markets. The most noticeable differences are in the varying levels of digitalization. But the climatic conditions should not be forgotten. The mobility behavior of populations and thus the business models are very different.

For example, e-scooters or mopeds are much more used in southern Europe than in the colder regions of the continent.

For international companies implementing digital identification, it is crucial that the solution reflects country-specific rules and laws and can be used in a legally compliant manner – for example, GDPR in the EU. Only in this way can a company grow and expand internationally based on a centralized platform.

VM: Which digital identification variants are most used in the mobility sector today and which will be in the future?

Today, business in the mobility sector mainly takes place in the non-regulated area. This means that the normal rules and laws between providers and users apply and no special rules apply, such as those involving highly sensitive and personal data. For example, when renting an e-scooter, a simple identification via a mobile app is sufficient to activate the service for the customer on-site.

From certain vehicle classes onward, driver's license verification naturally plays a more important role.

IDnow is capable of verifying all EU driver's licenses as well as US driver's licenses, and we are continuously expanding coverage worldwide.

VM: Can you please tell us a bit more about IDnow's unique selling points?

Perhaps the most important is that we have our data centers exclusively in the EU. No data leaves the EU legal area, and we know that particularly our customers, but increasingly end users too, are very sensitive about their personal data. Another characteristic that sets us apart is the modular structure of our solutions. This means they can be very flexibly adapted to the requirements and possibly existing structures of our customers – both from a technical perspective and for consistency in corporate design for external presentation. And we offer individual solutions tailored to the specifics of each industry rather than a “one size fits all” solution that can be used somehow but not perfectly.