EasyJet hails Jumio tie-up as app scanning tech takes off

EasyJet has seen over 1,500 customers use a new passport scanning function on its mobile app in the first two days of it going live.

EasyJet has seen over 1,500 customers use a new passport scanning function on its mobile app in the first two days of it going live.

The budget carrier said the service, provided via an integration with Jumio, had resonated really well with customers who are looking for their mobile experience to be quick and simple.

The Jumio scanning technology allows travellers to populate check-in fields simply showing their passports to their phones’ camera.

James Millett, easyJet’s head of digital, said: “It’s all about speed. Putting your passport information in can take a significant amount of time and it’s something that creates frustration.

“This is absolutely aligned with what we want to do. We talk about making travel easier, and this is another example of that. This is a natural evolution which aligns with our strategy.

“You can book a flight in 30 second you can check-in in 20 seconds and that’s what customers like; the speed and convenience.”

Millett said using a third party supplier of this technology was a natural decision as this was not something it would have done in–house.

He added the high level of usage in the early stages of the Jumio relationship showed how customers find the process of using the technology to check-in intuitive.

“In terms of our mobile strategy we will continue adding features that add value to make it easier and put information into people’s hands,” said Millett.

Since allowing mobile check-in easyJet has seen a total of 10 million mobile boarding passes downloaded.

EasyJet is seeing 8% of e-commerce booking are coming through mobile and the proportion is growing. The easyJet mobile app was built by Dublin-based Mobile Travel Technologies.

The easyJet integration is Jumio’s first big deal in the UK and wider EMEA region having previously started working in the US with United.

David Pope, Jumio’s European marketing director, said: “This is a continuation of Jumio’s evolution across lots of different industries.

“The mobile experience is really maturing and e-commerce itself is about 20 years old now. People expect more of their online experience now. Consumers expect better experiences online.

“So companies are looking to partner with innovative solutions like Jumio to provide a slicker quicker experience.”

As well as working with airbnb.com in travel – the peer-to-peer site using to engender trust in the sharing economy – Jumio is also heavily used in the gaming and financial services sectors.

EasyJet is using the scanning Fastfill product supplied by Jumio but not the Netverify authentication service which United is using. United has been using the technology since early August.

Millett said he expected the technology to be particularly helpful for business travellers but that leisure customers would also value the convenience it offers.

Pope said: “People want really quick convenient experiences when they are transacting online or mobile.

“If you look at how many million international plane journeys take place each year then it’s a fairly simple equation to work out that this could save the airline industry millions of minutes of check-in a year.”