In a bid to foster better security and safety in the Nigerian transport system, Bolt, a renowned transportation platform has partnered with YouVerify, a data aggregation and acquisition company to launch a fully customised portal to secure drivers on the ride hailing on-demand transportation platform.
Speaking during an event organized to announce the identity verification portal on Bolt, Femi Akin-Laguda, Bolt’s City Manager, Lagos, said that the safety of both drivers and riders will continue to be a cornerstone of the company’s business strategy for building trust with all its customers. Hence, it became important for the company to continuously improve safety features and create a portal where drivers can request and check verification as part of the driver on-boarding process.
“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,” he said.
According to Akin-Laguda, 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. What is more, 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,” he added.
Also speaking, Gbenga Odegbami, CEO, 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.”
Odegbami, further stated that in the past 18 months, YouVerify’s advanced background verification has helped institutions build trust between companies and with individuals, while consistently demonstrating their commitment to data safety.
“The verification portal will be rolled out in stages: It is already live in Lagos, Abuja and Port-Harcourt, and will be available across Nigeria in the coming months.”
“More so, the drivers verification portal is an addition to Bolt’s suite of safety features including as SOS button in the driver app, a 24-hour high-priority team, and the ability to share the details and route of an on-going ride with loved one,” he said.
Jumoke Akiyode-Lawanson
