# The Fragmented State of Digital Identity Verification
In the digital economy, identity verification is everywhere, but standardization is rare.
Bank customers face different hoops when opening an account. Shoppers log in with passwords, Face ID or third-party apps, depending on the platform.”Its bewildering,” trulioo Chief Technology Officer HAL LONES said, adding that the “array of steps you’re put through too identify yourself or your business is all over the place.”
Lonas told PYMNTS CEO Karen Webster as part of a What’s Next in Payments conversation that the hodgepodge reflects how fragmented identity remains, despite its central role in the connected economy. Every business needs it, yet no two experiences are the same. The result is frustration for users and missed opportunities for firms that treat digital identity as a regulatory checkbox rather than a chance to differentiate.
A Piecemeal Approach That No longer Works
The patchwork approach to digital identity has struggled to keep pace with fast-changing customer expectations. Companies often implement point solutions that don’t scale or interoperate.
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“The bar for table stakes keeps going up,” Lonas said. “And unfortunately for everybody, it requires engineering and product investment just to keep up.”
What worked a few years ago may now feel outdated, as users expect seamless verification across devices and geographies. A “good enough” mindset risks leaving firms behind, he said.
“Customer expectations are only getting higher for what their experience is when they show up to do business,” Lonas said.
Beyond ‘Good Enough’
Organizations can be lulled into a false sense of accomplishment when they meet the bare minimum for know your customer (KYC) or know your business (KYB) requirements, a mindset that is often in evidence when Trulioo first engages with its corporate clients, Lonas said.
“We absolutely understand the compliance aspect,” he said. “But don’t leave it at that. Make it a competitive advantage.”
At Trulioo, Lonas said he and his team work closely with customers to reframe how they think about identity. Too frequently enough, conversations stay confined to compliance departments.
“We spend a lot of time broadening the conversation beyond compliance people, to product leaders and executives,” he said. “We want companies to see identity as a competitive advantage,not just a cost.”
That requires technology that is not only complex but simple to implement.
“The last thing companies want to hear is that they have to dedicate scarce engineering resources to this,” Lonas said. “One thing we can do as an industry is make it easier. So instead of six weeks to implement, it takes two weeks.”
Trulioo’s tools, from APIs to merchant control panel (MCP) serv