Identity Verification Procedures

Last updated: May 13, 2026

Overview

Through Glide’s fraud partner, Plaid Identity Verification (Plaid IDV), we’re able to safely approve the majority of applications. However, there are situations where a member gets placed into the “Pending” queue (manual review) after application submission due to failing one or more of the Plaid IDV steps. This guide will explain what causes an applicant to fail Plaid IDV, and what resolution steps staff members should take on the application.

For more information on these checks (Identity Check, Risk Check, Watchlist Screening), please see our Fraud Overview guide.

Plaid IDV Cases

Below are the scenarios in which an applicant can fail Plaid IDV, and what Glide recommends the staff member do to for each scenario.

Please note: Sometimes, an applicant can “Fail” a check even though they are a legitimate individual. Please review the application carefully to check for typos or unintentional mistakes. These applicants might not need to go through the step-up or retry process.

If you are in person with the member, selfie check does not need to be run as long as the person matches the photo identification provided.

Applicant Fails “Data Source Verification” Check

Plaid IDV conducts an identity check on the applicant by comparing their PII with authoritative data sources (see Fraud Prevention Overview for more info).

Resolution Path

Situation	Action	Details
Name - No Match	If minor typo, correct manually. Otherwise, issue Data Source Verification and Selfie Check.	If significant mismatch with drivers license, issue a Data Source Verification and Selfie Check retry. Communicate to the applicant that they must use their government name listed on their ID document. If the rerun comes back with a different name as the ID document, ask applicant reasoning behind different name being used. Defer to credit union guidelines if name on ID should be used or name provided. If a slight misspelling is recognized comparing the inputted name to ID document, use best judgement to edit the name within Glide to match ID document and approve application. If last name is not found, this may point to our records showing the applicants maiden name. If all other checks pass and ID shows the inputted last name, this can be assumed.
DOB - No Match	If minor typo, correct manually. Otherwise, issue selfie check.	If mismatch with ID document, issue selfie check. If selfie comes back approved, edit the applicant DOB within Glide to match ID document. If a slight misspelling is recognized comparing the inputted DOB to ID document, edit the DOB within Glide to match ID document and approve application.
Address - No Match	If address matches ID, ignore. Request proof of address.	If address matches ID, no further action is needed. If mismatch with drivers license, request proof of address.
Address is PO box or Commercial	Request a physical address from the applicant with proof of address.	Request a physical address from the applicant with proof of address.
SSN - No Match	Request SSN Card and Selfie Check.	If SSN is not found, request SSN Card and Selfie Check. Plaid is not able to scan SSN cards. Please have the applicant attach this in an email/support ticket when you reach out.

Applicant Fails Document Verification

Plaid checks that the information on an applicant’s document matches their PII, screens fake IDs, and ensures the document is readable.

Resolution Path

If documentary verification has failed all three times, request a retry for Documentary Verification from the applicant and inform them what to keep in mind while taking a photo of their document.

Failed Category	Meaning	Resolution
Name Comparison	The submitted name is not a match to the data we extracted from the document. Beyond small differences in spelling, we also adjust our scoring to handle special cases, like common nicknames (e.g. "Jack" vs. "John") and hyphenated last names (e.g. "Knope-Wyatt" vs. "Knope").	- If significant mismatch with drivers license, then issue Data Source Verification and selfie check to verify the name. Communicate to the applicant that they must use their government name listed on their ID document. - If the rerun comes back with a different name as the ID document, ask applicant reasoning behind different name being used. Defer to credit union guidelines if name on ID should be used or name provided. - If a slight misspelling is recognized comparing the inputted name to ID document, use best judgement to edit the name within Glide to match ID document and approve application. - If last name is not found, this may point to our records showing the applicants maiden name. If all other checks pass and ID shows the inputted last name, this can be assumed.
DOB Comparison	The applicant submitted a date of birth that does not match the data we extracted from the document.	- If mismatch with ID document, then issue selfie check. - If selfie comes back approved, edit the applicant’s DOB within Glide to match ID document. - If a slight misspelling is recognized comparing the inputted DOB to ID document, use best judgement to edit the DOB within Glide to match ID document and approve application.
ID Type Comparison	The document type that we extracted does not match the document type the applicant selected during the verification process.	If your credit union does not accept the ID type that was submitted, request an ID document from the applicant with the preferred type.
Country Comparison	The issuing country of the document does not match the country the applicant resides in.	If your credit union does not accept the country of the ID document that was submitted, request an ID document from the applicant with the preferred country.
Portrait Presence	The submitted document does not contain a portrait	Request a retry for Documentary Verification and let the applicant know to submit a document with a portrait
Portrait Details	Portrait Details does not appear authentic. We check each document to ensure the applicant’s photo is in compliance with the requirements for the given document. For example, many identity documents require a specific contrast to highlight skin tone, removal of glasses, and a specific pose. Failing this check can mean the document is forged or otherwise tampered with.	Request a retry for Documentary Verification and let the applicant know to submit a document with a portrait
Image Composition	Image composition does not appear authentic. Image composition analysis detects whether a submitted photo contains a physical identity document, as opposed to a scanned document or a picture of a document displayed on a screen.	Request a retry for Documentary Verification and let the member know they must take a photo of a document. They are not allowed to upload a photo of an ID or take a picture of a picture.
Integrity Check	Document not not appear intact. The pictured document seems to damaged.	Request a retry for Documentary Verification and let the member know they must take a photo of a document. They are not allowed to upload a photo of an ID or take a picture of a picture.
Detail Check	We check each document's details to ensure they match the jurisdiction's template. For example, field alignment, coloration, and identifying symbols.	Request a retry for Documentary Verification and let the member know they must take a photo of a document. They are not allowed to upload a photo of an ID or take a picture of a picture.
Expiration	This document was expired at the time of verification.	Request a retry for Documentary Verification and let the member know to take a picture of an active ID document that is not expired.
Issue Date	Issue date was not successfully extracted.	Request a retry for Documentary Verification and let the member know to take a clear photo of the ID.

Applicant fails Risk Check

In addition to Data Source Verification/Document Verification checks, Glide also applies a Risk check to applicants (see Fraud Overview for details on this check).

Resolution Path

Risk Check	Risk Level	Checks to Request
Email Risk	High	ID Document (unless previously captured), Selfie Check
Phone Risk	High	ID Document (unless previously captured), Selfie Check
Behavior Risk	High	ID Document (unless previously captured), Selfie Check
Device Risk	High	ID Document (unless previously captured), Selfie Check
IDV Network Risk	High	ID Document (unless previously captured), Selfie Check
Synthetic Identity Risk	Medium or High	Second Document (SSN card), Selfie Check
Stolen Identity Risk	Medium or High	Second Document (any ID), Selfie Check
3 or more Risk checks	Medium or High	ID Document (unless previously captured), Selfie Check

Stolen Identity Risk and Synthetic Identity Risk should be treated with higher severity. If these checks are returned as high, it is not recommended to approve the application.

Applicant fails Watchlist Screening

Glide checks applicants against a number of domestic and international watchlists, including OFAC.

Resolution Path

If a member fails Watchlist screening check, staff members should leave a note in the “Notes” section.

From here, the staff member should follow their organizations policy on OFAC to determine whether to accept or reject the member. To confirm or dismiss a screening, use the following steps:

Click on the “Resolve in Screening” button.

You’ll be taken to the Plaid Monitor view. On this page, you can analyze the hit deeper and confirm or dismiss the hit. Plaid will state what attributes of the member matched with a hit and the list that the member was found on.

Applicant Fails Multiple Checks

If the applicant fails more than one of the above check, this is a higher risk member. For these scenarios, we want to utilize the rest of this guide to find the total additional checks we need to run.

Resolution Path

Make a list of the steps the applicant failed. Review the rest of this guide to find all the additional checks that are recommended for each of the failures. Create a retry that combines all of the additional checks and send to applicant.

How to Request a Retry

To learn how to request an IDV retry via Plaid, see the following article:

📄 IDV Retry