Bolt introduces new identity verification portal for drivers

Bolt, formerly known as Taxify, on Monday, announced its partnership with a data aggregation and acquisition company YouVerify, to develop a fully customised portal for Bolt where drivers can request and check their verifications as part of the driver onboarding process.

Femi Akin-Laguda, Bolt’s City Manager for Lagos, said the move is to solve driver identity issues and ensure passenger safety.

He said, “We are very excited to announce that we have now partnered with YouVerify to build an industry-leading self-serve driver verification portal which is the first of its kind to be rolled out in our industry.

“This unique portal was developed in partnership with our supply operations team ensuring that it effectively meets our needs, but is also not excessively intrusive for our driver-partners. The system will be driven by YouVerify’s proprietary identity verification technology which provides the tools to validate various documentation and data and provide key requirements for an ideal verification solution that boosts both service quality and customer safety.”

The identity verification portal allows Bolt to conduct checks that were not available before, and is more comprehensive for the existing checks. For example, the home address verification provides higher levels of identity assurance than with previous model and BVN check in particular will help completely remove fraud and impersonation attempts. The verification results are received in real-time, which makes the turnaround time much faster.

All the driver has to do is initiate the verification request, provide all the information required and the portal verifies the driver’s home address, the driver’s documents and face, and verifies the BVN against the database of NIBSS to confirm their identity.

The new identity portal is part of ongoing safety measures instituted by the company since it began operations in Nigeria in 2016.

He said, “The safety of both drivers and riders has always and will continue to be a cornerstone of our business strategy of building trust with all our customers. As safety is never done, over the last three years, we have been working very hard to continue improving the level of detail and robustness of our verification process in validating the identity of all individuals who wish to drive on Bolt.”

In addition, Bolt is commencing a safety campaign this month.

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According to Opemipo Kehinde, Marketing Manager, Bolt, the company wants passengers to confirm the plate number, car make and car model and then the face of the driver before taking the ride. Where any of these is incorrect, the rider is advised to report the case.

The driver verification portal is an addition to Bolt’s suite of safety features including an SOS button in the driver app, a 24-hour high-priority team, and the ability to share the details and route of an ongoing ride with loved ones.

Gbenga Odegbami, Chief Executive Officer of YouVerify, said: “Our partnership with Bolt to deploy the highest security and privacy standards will ensure that all verifications are done reliably and securely without compromising the privacy of the drivers.

“In the past 18 months, Youverify’s advanced background verification has helped institutions build trust between companies and with individuals, while consistently demonstrating our commitment to data safety.”

The verification portal is already live in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, and will be available across Nigeria in the coming months.