New data from Credas Technologies has revealed that digital identity verification is becoming more efficient and streamlined in the fight against fraud, with pass rates rising and manual intervention requirements falling significantly over the past three years.
Analysis of Credas’s identity verification data covering millions of checks between 2023 and 2026 reportedly shows that pass rates have increased from 86.1% to 89.3% year-to-date in 2026.
According to the company, over the same period, referral rates – where cases require additional manual review – have fallen from 9.1% to between 3-4% annually, representing a reduction of more than half.
Fail rates reportedly increased from 4.8% in 2023 to 8.6% in 2024, before declining to 6.9% in 2026 year-to-date.
The data suggests a shift towards more decisive verification outcomes, with fewer cases requiring escalation to manual review.
Credas’s has articulated that the findings come as identity fraud continues to pose significant risks to businesses.
According to the latest Fraudscape report, identity fraud accounts for 54% of all recorded fraud cases in the UK, underlining the critical importance of effective verification at the point of onboarding.
Credas’s dataset is also said to reveal that the vast majority of identity checks are conducted using passports and driving licences, which together account for approximately 99% of all documents submitted for verification.
This concentration reportedly reflects the continued reliance on standardised, government-issued identification within digital onboarding processes, particularly in regulated sectors such as property and legal services.
Rhian Del-Valle, Director of Enterprise Partnerships at Credas commented: “The drop in manual referrals from 9.1% to 3-4% represents a significant shift in how digital verification performs.
“Manual reviews create delays and operational overhead, so seeing referrals fall by more than half whilst pass rates improve demonstrates real progress in the technology.
“It shows you can reduce friction without compromising on fraud detection – which is essential when identity fraud remains such a persistent threat.”
According to the company, the improving pass rates and declining manual referral rates indicate that digital verification technology is maturing, supporting prevention efforts alongside better user experience – a critical balance for businesses operating in high-compliance environments.
