Slow identity verification is driving abandonment and brand switching

TL;DR: A survey of 2,000 Americans found 83% are frustrated by the complexity of creating new online accounts, 60% would abandon account opening if verification takes more than 40 seconds, and 51% would switch brands because of slow identity verification, according to Prove Identity. In identity proofing, speed has become a governance control because friction now directly shapes trust, conversion, and retention.

Editorial analysis by NHI Mgmt Group, based on content published by Prove Identity: “Prove Survey Reveals More Than Half of U.S. Consumers Would Switch Brands as a Result of Slow Identity Verification”.

By the numbers:

• 83% are frustrated with the complexity of creating new online accounts.
• 60% would abandon account opening if identification verification takes more than 40 seconds.
• 51% would switch brands as a result of slow identity verification.

Key questions

Q: How can organisations reduce repeated identity verification without losing assurance?

A: By standardising identity evidence across systems so the same subject is not forced to re-prove identity at every touchpoint.

Q: Why does poor identity verification increase both fraud risk and regulatory exposure?

A: Poor identity verification creates risk because criminals exploit gaps to open or take over accounts, move illicit funds, or hide behind legitimate identities.

Q: What are the signs that global identity verification is failing in practice?

A: Common warning signs include frequent document failures for legitimate users, long manual review queues, inconsistent handling of non-local IDs, and heavy drop-off during onboarding.

Practitioner guidance

• Measure abandonment at each identity step Track where users exit account creation or login flows, then separate genuine security failures from friction-driven drop-off so the team can tune the verification sequence.
• Reduce password-led journeys where possible Replace repeated password entry and unnecessary retries with lower-friction identity signals when the transaction risk allows it, especially in consumer onboarding and reauthentication.
• Tune verification to transaction risk Apply stronger checks only where the account action, product type, or fraud exposure justifies them, rather than forcing every user through the same high-friction path.

Bottom line: Slow identity verification can be a business risk as well as a security design problem when it pushes legitimate users out of the journey.

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