< 1 min
manual verification
97 %
verified on first attempt
Overview
Oriental Bank set out to become a truly digital-first institution in Puerto Rico, shifting from in-branch onboarding to a modern, fully online experience for new customers. By partnering with Vouched, Oriental can now complete Customer Identification Program (CIP) verification digitally for new-to-bank customers, both in Puerto Rico and abroad, while maintaining strong fraud controls and a seamless user experience.
Vouched made it possible for us to open fully digital accounts for new customers, a capability we simply did not have before.
Héctor Ayala, Manager, Customer Intelligence and Operations
Challenge
No Fully Digital CIP for New Customers
Before Vouched, Oriental’s onboarding journey for new customers was not fully digital. Customers could begin their application online, but:
- CIP verification required human intervention or branch interaction.
- New-to-bank customers outside Puerto Rico were especially challenging to support at scale.
- The process created friction that limited digital growth and constrained Oriental’s ability to compete with top mainland U.S. digital banking experiences.
As it stood, the bank couldn’t achieve its digital vision and meet rising customer expectations. Oriental needed a robust, scalable digital identity solution to verify individuals securely, without disrupting the user journey.
Solution
Fully Digital Account Opening Powered by Vouched
Oriental selected Vouched as the identity layer for its digital account-opening platform, integrating Visual ID Verification and Crosscheck data checks directly into its workflow.
Key components of the solution
- Digital CIP for new-to-bank customers: Vouched enables Oriental to verify identity through visual ID validation, biometric matching, and liveness checks, allowing end-to-end digital CIP for customers in Puerto Rico and abroad, regardless of prior relationship.
- Configuration tuned to Puerto Rico: Oriental uses a configuration optimized for:
- Puerto Rico driver’s licenses
- Local naming conventions (multiple surnames, second names)
- High completion rate with strong fraud controls: 91% of applicants who begin the Vouched verification process successfully complete it, supported by:
- Improved liveness flows that reduce user confusion and bypass
- Detection of e-screens and manipulated IDs
- Consistency checks between application data and ID attributes
Result
Digital Differentiation, Fraud Reduction, and Operational Efficiency
Oriental’s work with Vouched has become a core pillar of its digital strategy and a key differentiator in the Puerto Rican market.
Fully digital account opening for new customers
With Vouched, Oriental can now complete CIP verification fully online for new-to-bank customers, an ability the bank did not previously have. This includes customers:
- Located in Puerto Rico
- Located outside Puerto Rico
- With no prior relationship to the bank
Scale and performance
Vouched supports Oriental’s digital onboarding at production scale, enabling consistent performance as volumes grow.
- 4,500+ Vouched verifications per month
- 7,000+ peak digital identity verifications per month
- 2021 Launched in production
- 91% Completion Rate for ID Verification
These metrics demonstrate Oriental’s ability to support digital growth while maintaining a streamlined onboarding experience.
Fraud prevention impact
Vouched provides an important layer of fraud protection within Oriental’s digital onboarding flow, helping identify high-risk or suspicious attempts before accounts are opened.
Vouched adds a strong security layer to Oriental’s digital onboarding by combining visual ID verification, biometric matching, liveness detection, and cross-checks against application data. These layered controls help protect against identity misuse and suspicious activity while maintaining a seamless experience for legitimate customers.
These controls help reduce downstream risk while allowing legitimate customers to onboard digitally.
Operational efficiency
Since implementing Vouched, digital penetration for Oriental’s primary product has increased by approximately 28 percentage points, resulting in improved operational efficiency and reduced reliance on manual review.
Nearly 30% of new accounts are now opened digitally, up from low single digits. This shift to a fully digital workflow reflects both increased customer adoption and Oriental’s ability to complete CIP fully online.
A limited digital lead-generation flow has evolved into a fully digital onboarding channel: The bank has seen measurable growth in digital sales volume year-over-year.
Now, internal teams focus more on advisory services and on complex customer needs rather than on routine identity verification.
Looking Ahead
Waterfall CIP, New Products, and Mobile IDs
Oriental and Vouched are continuing to collaborate on the next phase of Oriental’s digital transformation, with a focus on expanding digital onboarding across new products, customer segments, and identity technologies.
Expanding digital onboarding across products and segments
Oriental plans to extend its digital onboarding and identity verification capabilities beyond deposit accounts to support additional offerings related to Oriental’s growth strategy while maintaining a consistent, digital-first experience across products.
Advancing mobile driver’s license (mDL) adoption
Puerto Rico has emerged as a leader in mobile identity adoption. This environment creates a strong foundation for mobile driver’s licenses to play a larger role in digital onboarding. Oriental and Vouched are exploring how mobile IDs can be incorporated into identity verification flows to:
- Further reduce friction for customers who already rely on digital credentials
- Improve fraud resistance through cryptographically secure, standards-based identity data
- Support future use cases as mobile IDs become more broadly adopted across the U.S.
Supporting a digital banking model
Together, these efforts support Oriental’s overarching goal: to become a truly digital bank, where branches focus on advice and complex financial needs, and digital channels drive growth in new customers and new markets.
About Oriental Bank
Oriental Bank is a leading financial institution in Puerto Rico, serving consumers and businesses across the island and in the mainland United States. As part of a digital transformation, Oriental is working to become “more digital than face-to-face,” repositioning its branches as advisory centers and shifting new account opening to digital channels.