Obtaining information faster and more accurtely with less friction is one of the building blocks for business success. Optical Character Recognition (OCR) technology allows you to quickly extract data from validated documents and speed through onboarding processes. OCR converts documents that contain written text (typed, handwritten, or printed) into machine-readable text data. ID documents and photos can be scanned, analysed, and translated into character codes. This machine-encoded text can be used to validate the information against a genuine verification source that helps in the verification of the National IDs containing numbers, addresses, names, and various other criteria almost instantly.

History of OCR

The history of OCR dates to the 1920s and became popular in the early 90s while attempting to digitize historic newspapers.1 Since then, technology has undergone several drastic improvements. Now it’s capable of recognizing most characters and fonts to a high level of accuracy. OCR technology removes the need for manually searching physical documents to find specific information, saving you a lot of time and effort.

If your records have been digitized, you simply search for special keywords on your computer. Some of the benefits of OCR technology include the elimination of manual data entry, resource savings due to the ability to process more data faster with fewer resources, error reductions, reallocation of physical storage space and improved productivity.

The Future of OCR

With the Covid-19 pandemic came a rapid transformation in the way we work, moving many organizations to a predominantly cloud-based and remote work model. The pandemic left businesses rushing to ensure employees could securely access data from their homes. Digital transformation among businesses has been changing how we manage information for a while; however, the global pandemic sped up this change. Scanning technology, including OCR, now more than ever, plays a massive role in data storage and management and has become essential for most businesses.

Document Readers serve banking, hospitality, travel, and other industries where you need an accurate and reliable document and ID verification reading. It can save customers time with a seamless experience for form filling and sign-ups. 

 

What to look for in OCR Technology that Scans ID Cards

Many industries still rely on legacy systems, yet, increasing interest in digitalization makes OCR technology necessary for businesses. Identification cards (ID cards) become the main reference in obtaining information about a citizen. Some business sectors require the information contained in the ID card to perform the registration process. In general, the registration process is still using a form to be filled by the data on the ID card, which will then be converted into digital data by retyping the information. 

OCR is still a foundational technology as today’s AI vendors rely on it to extract data. While choosing an OCR vendor, you should consider the following factors:

  • Character recognition accuracy
  • User-friendly interface
  • Computation speed
  • Output file formats (Word, Excel, PDF, etc.)
  • Integration with ERP data
  • Learning over time3

 

 

 

IdentifyME's OCR Benefits

From accurately scanning passports to IDs, GDI’s IdentifyME provides solutions that meet companies and organizations’ changing and growing digital identity security demands. IdentifyME  includes leading 3D Face Authentication, 3D Liveness Detection, NFC and OCR technology.

The OCR includes:

  • Intuitive UX with auto-classification: Document types are automatically recognized.
  • Privacy and security: Works on-device and doesn’t send document images to servers for processing.
  • Smart image capture:  Snaps a clear, high-resolution image of both the document and its owner’s face.
  • Field anonymization if required
  • Document data consistency:  Matches the data on both sides of the document, and checks if the extracted information has a valid format.
  • Age verification:  Displays a warning message if a person scanning their identity document is below the age limit set by the service provider.

The document readers’ intuitive design drastically improves first-time read rates, especially for infrequent users which lead to less frustration, shorter queues, and a positive impact on your organization’s reputation by providing users with a unique, enjoyable, and memorable experience.

To download the app and try the leading OCR solution today, please contact +971-2-676-9500.

 

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