How to Integrate ID Scanning Software into Mobile Apps

ID scanning technology has many applications today across different industries, from air travel and retail to post, parcel, and express. By pairing ID scanning capabilities with modern smart devices, it’s easy to equip any employee with a robust mobile data capture tool for fast, error-free ID scanning.

With the right ID scanning-enabled app, your enterprise can create automated, contactless, and frictionless processes that drive profitability, compliance, and customer satisfaction. To show you how, let’s explore the various ways ID scanning can be seamlessly integrated into existing business mobile apps and workflows to make them more efficient, safe, and reliable.

ID scanning for last mile delivery Apps

E-commerce has boomed worldwide in the wake of the pandemic, driving even greater demand for contact-free deliveries that under pressure delivery businesses must scale to meet. This extends to increasing volumes in online orders for age-restricted controlled goods, including alcoholic beverages—which is why delivery businesses are increasingly relying on mobile ID scanning software for age verification.

Age checks in last mile delivery have always been a challenge, now more than ever in an era of social distancing and the need to comply with local regulations. Deliveries must remain contactless to ensure driver and customer safety, but visual or manual verification checks are often time-consuming and inefficient. This results in more “dwell time” across interactions, which negatively impacts delivery speeds and customer satisfaction.

To combat this threat, delivery businesses are leveraging smartphone apps equipped with computer vision technology and ID scanning software. These enterprise-grade solutions combine barcode scanning, text recognition (OCR), and RFID technology to capture information from ID documents in seconds. Delivery drivers can simply approach the customer with their smartphone, then instantly scan their driver’s license (or other identity document) using an ID scanning app from a safe distance – with no need to hand over the ID. Best of all, these solutions can record whether an age verification check has taken place, helping you avoid the risk of legal and financial penalties tied with non-compliance.

Delivery businesses can apply this same technology to streamline onboarding for new, temporary, or seasonal workers, especially useful when scaling for peak times such as Christmas or Black Friday. For instance, a new driver could use ID scanning to confirm their identity and register for a mobile delivery app much faster. This scan-to-register approach as part of the onboarding verification process allows you to integrate new delivery drivers quickly and get them on the road in no time.

Note: Want to learn more about how your enterprise can use mobile data capture to tackle age verification in the last mile? Our free resource on scalable smartphone scanning apps will teach you how to reduce risk and meet the boom in demand for age-restricted goods like alcohol.

ID scanning for air travel Apps

ID scanning is an essential part of modern air travel. Traditionally, airports use fixed position scanners to recognize and process the thousands of different forms of passenger identification, from driver’s licenses to passports. And while this traditional scanning hardware is effective and accurate, it’s also highly expensive to secure and maintain. Coming off of 2020, which saw airport revenue fall by 90% in Q2 ($39 billion), many air travel enterprises are shifting away from these costly tools in favor of smartphone-based ID scanning in 2021.

With Scandit barcode scanning and OCR software, airline and airport employees can quickly process machine-readable ID documents (ID cards, passports, and visa stickers) with a few taps on a smartphone or tablet, from a safe distance of over 1.5 meters. Scandit-powered ID scanning apps make common airport workflows (like passport and boarding pass checks) fast and efficient for staff and passengers alike. Best of all, these inexpensive, flexible smart device-based tools offer the same performance and dependability as traditional scanners, while reducing the total cost of ownership (TCO) versus legacy scanning hardware.

ID scanning technology can even be used by passengers to make air travel easier! This technology gives passengers the freedom to scan their own passports at home during online check-ins using an air travel app, making boarding and travel operations even more seamless, error-free, and convenient.

ID scanning for retail Apps

Mobile retail shopping apps empower customers to order products at any time or place, giving them greater flexibility with their purchasing experience. Not only do these applications make it easier for users to buy and re-buy products, but it also empowers your retail team with insights on customer purchasing behaviors—which you can deploy to personalize offers, boost profitability, and increase customer satisfaction.

There’s just one problem: retail apps achieve nothing for your business if they’re too tedious to install and onboard. To drive healthy adoption of your retail or loyalty program app, you need to remove all barriers to entry for shoppers, including time-consuming registrations or onboarding. And that’s where smartphone-based ID scanning can help.

By augmenting your retail apps or loyalty program app with ID scanning, you can make customer registration faster and simpler than ever. Users can simply scan ID cards with their smartphones to input their basic information and get onboarded in moments—which supports higher adoption and engagement rates for your retail apps.

The Scandit solution for ID Scanning

Now that we’ve reviewed some of the important use cases for ID scanning in enterprise applications, let’s break down how our industry-leading ID scanning software will help your team rapidly capture data from ID documents via smart devices.

Scandit’s high-performance ID scanning software turns virtually any camera-equipped smart device into a powerful ID scanner—compatible with many different types of identity documents. It’s quick and simple to integrate into any mobile app with our SDK. This solution combines optical character recognition (OCR) and NFC technology with high-performance barcode scanning to read the following information:

• Machine Readable Zones (MRZ) – often found on passports, ID cards and visa stickers
• Text – commonly used to read the front of ID cards or driving licenses
• PDF417 Codes – mostly used for scanning driving licenses
• Biometric RFID Chips – found in many ID cards and passports

Our proprietary ID scanning software speeds up processes, reduces typing, and removes human error by eliminating the need for manual data entry among employees or customers. Whether you work across retail, air travel, transport & logistics, or other industries, our ID scanning solution makes processing identity documents and completing crucial workflows more efficient than ever before.

Contact us today for more information on the Scandit solution for mobile ID scanning—and how you can quickly integrate it across your existing or upcoming enterprise apps.