Investar Bank is a full-service community bank headquartered in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with locations across Louisiana, Alabama, and Texas. To help prevent new account and check fraud committed with fake IDs, Investar turned to Veridocs to authenticate applicant and customer driver’s licenses.
Scanning for an Alternative
Investar first became aware of Veridocs in early 2025 during a visit to a New Orleans casino. The Chief Digital Officer had his ID authenticated at the entrance by a staff member using a scanner with a Veridocs label. At the time, the bank was already interested in finding an alternative solution to validate IDs at its teller lines.
“We were looking for something for the front end at the branch level,” said Investar Financial Intelligence Director, David Owens. “The first ID scanner we tested came from another service we use. That scanner resembled a desk light, and we had to hold an ID under it for almost 45 minutes to get it to capture just right. That wasn’t going to work.”
A recommendation for Veridocs also came from the General Counsel of Investar at the time, who had come from the casino world in Las Vegas. Discussions with the Veridocs team began soon after. Investar installed Veridocs ID authentication and watch list screening technology and scanners in 30 initial locations by August 2025.
Trust in a Toaster-Shaped Package
Investar turned to Veridocs for several reasons. “Its leading experience with casinos, the thoroughness of its scans and reports, the constant software updates, and the fact it was looking to get into banking” made Veridocs the right fit, explained Owens.
The toaster-shaped ID scanner from Veridocs allows tellers to simply drop an ID in and receive both a report and the ID back in less than 15 seconds. As a web-based service, Veridocs scan results can then be easily stored within a company’s firewall and internal database.
“There were IDs scanned that I thought for sure would never, ever scan, but they did,” Owens noted. “Then they were seamlessly entered into our document library.”
Stopping Fraud Before it Reaches an Account
Investar uses TrueAuthentication® advanced ID authentication and TrueListCheckTM watch list screening within the Veridocs Evolution platform to prevent fraud. These two software technologies help its tellers ensure an applicant or customer’s ID is valid and generate a report as part of the bank’s Customer Identification Program. ID authentication helps catch any fake IDs at the window while watch list screening adds another layer of protection. It allows Investar to search the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) and FBI watch lists, as well as build an internal watch list – all while tracking visitations.
“We’ve seen issues where crime rings will send the same person to five different branch locations in the same day or week,” explained Owens. “Veridocs scanners notify our tellers if the person in front of them has visited other Investar branches, when, and which ones.”
Since installing Veridocs, IDs are now scanned, regardless of customer status, for any transaction at an Investar branch. This includes when opening a new account, cashing a check, or buying a money order. This has streamlined Investar’s process and provides better documentation on the front end.
“We use Veridocs to say, ‘yes’, we validated this person and this ID on this date, and this is what came up. This documentation has helped us catch a couple dishonest individuals who have tried to cash an honest check issued by a customer,” said Owens. “Veridocs stopped them dead.”
A Quiet Victory
With 29 legacy locations in Louisiana, Alabama, and Texas, Investar is the first bank in the area to use Veridocs.
“We’re trying to push that we use Veridocs as much as we can, and I think word is getting around that we are using it.”
After the first four months of scanning with Veridocs, Investar had an unusually quiet, but welcome, end to 2025 – there were few attempts at fraudulent activity. This early success has made the bank excited for the future. Going forward, any banks Investar acquires or any branches it opens will install Veridocs technology. As of March 2026, Investar has expanded its use to another seven locations.
Group Efforts
Implementation of Veridocs technology was, overall, a smooth experience for Investar. Owens explained that despite a couple initial speed bumps, Veridocs was able to quickly resolve them by sending two team members to spend a week with the Investar team on site. The Veridocs team determined that Investar needed a firmware update while ensuring all scanners were in perfect working order. Owens also commended the training Veridocs provides, which it plans to repurpose for its own procedures and processes.
Investar shares its insights amongst various regional and local security and fraud peer groups. After creating a record in its internal watch list for an individual attempting to open a fraudulent account or cash a check fraudulently, Investar can send a copy of that individual’s ID and name to alert all the other banks in a respective group. The straightforward implementation and viable results from Veridocs have been impressive so far for Investar, and the bank urges those in its peer groups and beyond to assess their own security measures and to consider Veridocs.
Veridocs helps banks mitigate the risk of check fraud committed with fake IDs. It appreciates the opportunity to partner with Investar Bank and the bank’s decision to entrust Veridocs technology with ensuring its tellers can be certain they know who’s banking with them.
