Biometrics Is the Most Trusted Identity Verification Method — but Fewer Than Half Rank It First, Global Study Finds

Key fi di gs

• Biomet ics a e the most t usted ide tity evide ce, selected by 37%.
• Chip-e abled gove me t IDs a k seco d at 27%.
• No ide tity evide ce type eceives majo ity t ust.
• I dust y p efe e ces diffe sig ifica tly, showi g that o si gle evide ce type se ves as a u ive sal fou datio of t ust.

RESTON, Va., July 22, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — No si gle fo m of ide tity evide ce is t usted most by a majo ity of o ga izatio s, acco di g to Regula’s global su vey of 850 f aud p eve tio a d fi a cial c ime decisio -make s. Biomet ics lead, but t ust is sp ead ac oss docume ts, c ede tials, a d device sig als. As AI-assisted f aud ta gets eve y laye of the ve ificatio p ocess, st o g ide tity decisio s i c easi gly depe d o co obo ati g i depe de t fo ms of evide ce.

Ide tity evide ce — i cludi g biomet ics, ide tity docume ts, c ede tials, a d device sig als — is the i fo matio o ga izatio s use to dete mi e whethe a digital use is who they claim to be. Each type a swe s a diffe e t pa t of that questio , but o e p ovides the full pictu e i isolatio . A ealistic face does ot p ove that a ide tity is authe tic; a authe tic docume t does ot p ove that its legitimate holde is p ese t; a d valid c ede tials do ot p ove that a sessio has ot bee hijacked.

Agai st this backd op, Regula’s su vey exami ed which fo ms of ide tity evide ce o ga izatio s t ust most.

Which o li e ide tity evide ce do o ga izatio s t ust most?

Acco di g to Regula’s su vey, biomet ics a d chip-e abled ide tity docume ts lead, but t ust exte ds beyo d a si gle sig al.

Whe asked which type of ide tity evide ce thei o ga izatio t usts most, espo de ts clea ly favo ed two fo ms of evide ce. Biomet ic captu e (face, voice, o fi ge p i t) a ked fi st at 37%, followed by gove me t-issued ide tity docume ts with chip o RFID ve ificatio at 27%.

Gove me t-issued docume ts without chip ve ificatio (14%) a d t aditio al c ede tials such as passwo ds, MFA, o secu ity toke s (13%) fo med a seco d tie of t usted evide ce. Device o e vi o me tal sig als we e selected fa less f eque tly, with just 5% of o ga izatio s ide tifyi g them as thei p ima y sou ce of t ust.

Ove all, the esults eveal a f agme ted t ust la dscape: biomet ics lead, but o si gle fo m of evide ce has eme ged as the clea sta da d fo ide tity ve ificatio .

“The questio is o lo ge whethe o ga izatio s should t ust biomet ics mo e tha ide tity docume ts o vice ve sa. Mode f aud ta gets eve y pa t of the ve ificatio p ocess: AI ca ge e ate faces, ma ipulate docume ts, comp omise c ede tials, a d imitate legitimate use behavio . No si gle sig al ca a swe eve y questio equi ed fo a high-co fide ce ide tity decisio . T ust comes f om i depe de t fo ms of evide ce that ei fo ce o e a othe ,” says He y Patishma , Executive Vice P eside t of Ide tity Ve ificatio Solutio s at Regula.

How t ust i ide tity evide ce diffe s by i dust y

Regula’s su vey also shows that o ga izatio s p io itize diffe e t fo ms of ide tity evide ce ac oss i dust ies, likely eflecti g diffe e ces i custome jou eys, egulato y equi eme ts, available ide tity i f ast uctu e, a d f aud exposu e.

Fi a cial se vices a d gami g o ga izatio s place the g eatest emphasis o biomet ics, with 41% ide tifyi g biomet ic captu e as thei p ima y sou ce of t ust. Ba ki g follows at 38%, while telecommu icatio s a d c ypto o ga izatio s epo t 37%. This may eflect the impo ta ce of emote, high-volume i te actio s i which o ga izatio s eed to establish that the pe so p ese ti g a ide tity is physically p ese t.

Gove me t o ga izatio s sta d apa t as the o ly secto whe e biomet ics a d gove me t-issued chip-e abled ide tity docume ts eceive the same level of t ust, at 29% each. O e possible expla atio is that gove me t ide tity p og ams ofte eed to bala ce two questio s: whethe the docume t is authe tic a d whethe the pe so p ese ti g it is its legitimate holde .

C ypto o ga izatio s show o e of the b oadest dist ibutio s of t ust ac oss the evide ce types measu ed. Compa ed with othe i dust ies, they assig elatively g eate impo ta ce to gove me t-issued docume ts without chip ve ificatio , at 17%, a d device o e vi o me tal sig als, at 10%. This b oade sp ead may eflect the va iety of o boa di g e vi o me ts, devices, geog aphies, a d f aud patte s c ypto platfo ms e cou te .

Ove all, the fi di gs suggest that the most t usted fo m of ide tity evide ce depe ds pa tly o the isks a d ope atio al ealities of each secto . No si gle type eme ges as a u ive sal sou ce of t ust.

About Ide tity Ve ificatio i the Age of AI Age ts study

Ide tity Ve ificatio i the Age of AI Age ts is a global study co ducted by Sapio Resea ch i Ma ch 2026 amo g 850 decisio -make s espo sible fo f aud p eve tio a d fi a cial c ime ac oss the UK, US, Ge ma y, Si gapo e, UAE, B azil, a d Mexico. Respo de ts ep ese t ba ki g, fi a cial se vices, c ypto, telecommu icatio s, gove me t, a d gami g secto s.

The epo t is eleased i two pa ts. The fi st exami es how AI-assisted acto s, deepfakes, a d sy thetic ide tities a e eshapi g ide tity th eats. The seco d explo es how o ga izatio s a e adapti g ide tity ve ificatio to AI-d ive th eats, whe e co fide ce gaps emai , a d what capabilities a e eeded to make ide tity decisio s mo e eliable a d explai able.

Read the full epo t to lea how o ga izatio s a e adapti g ide tity ve ificatio as digital i te actio s become mo e complex.

About Regula

Regula is a global develope of ide tity ve ificatio (IDV) solutio s a d fo e sic devices, t usted by ove 2,000 o ga izatio s ac oss egulated i dust ies wo ldwide. Regula IDV solutio s delive e d-to-e d docume t ve ificatio , biomet ic authe ticatio , a d ide tity lifecycle ma ageme t. They e able o ga izatio s to p eve t f aud by e su i g the i teg ity of eve y sig al behi d each decisio . Built o 34 yea s of docume t fo e sics expe tise, fully p op ieta y tech ology, a d a i -house fo e sic labo ato y, Regula mai tai s the wo ld’s la gest template lib a y of 16,000+ ID templates f om 254 cou t ies a d te ito ies. The compa y’s tech ologies a e deployed at 80+ bo de co t ol autho ities wo ldwide. Recog ized i the 2025 Ga t e ® Magic Quad a t™ fo Ide tity Ve ificatio .

Lea mo e at www. egulafo e sics.com.

A i fog aphic accompa yi g this a ou ceme t is available at https://www.globe ewswi e.com/NewsRoom/Attachme tNg/fc6b76b9-3b7a-4f1c-b636-caf9e8875ea1