In our other blog posts, you’ve heard a lot about verifiable credentials (VCs), what they are, how they work, and their incredible flexibility for being applied to different use cases and contexts. They’re essentially tamper-evident digital representations of real-world credentials that can be independently verified as genuine. Though there are myriad benefits that VCs can bring to associations and their staff, in this post we’ll look at some of the benefits that VC technology can enable for their members. By leveraging this transformational technology and what it can bring to improving security, efficiencies and convenience, associations can vastly improve their member experience and, as a result, have the potential for a direct and positive impact on their membership growth.
One of the key benefits of verifiable credentials for associations is that the technology enables proof of qualifications and membership with far more assurance and speed of verification and sharing for members. With this technology, members no longer need to rely on physical copies of their membership cards or certificates, which can be lost, damaged, or forged. Instead, they can simply share their tamper-evident digital credentials with others, who can then easily and quickly verify their authenticity. This ability to easily verify membership can be especially useful to ensure that only those who are truly qualified are able to access certain resources, privileges, and events. This can help to increase the perceived value and privilege of membership, which in turn can help to attract new members and retain existing ones.
Another way that verifiable credentials can help associations increase their membership base is by simplifying the membership application and renewal process. With traditional methods, applicants often must provide a significant amount of documentation to prove their qualifications or experience. This can be time-consuming and frustrating for both applicants and association staff. With verifiable credentials, however, applicants can simply share their credentials with the association (and other organizations), which can quickly and easily verify their authenticity without the involvement of any intermediating party. This can make the application or renewal process much smoother and more efficient, which materially improves member experience and helps to increase the appeal of membership.
In addition to the many benefits mentioned above, verifiable credentials can also help associations to build trust and credibility with their members and other stakeholders. By adopting this technology to secure and verify member credentials, associations can demonstrate their commitment to member data protection and data privacy by giving their members better control of their own data sharing and privacy. This can help to build member confidence in the association and its activities, which can in turn help to attract new members.
Verifiable credentials can also help associations to stay ahead of the curve when it comes to transformational technologies. As more and more organizations adopt this technology, those that are slow to adopt may risk being left behind. By simplifying verification processes, increasing the perceived value of membership, and building trust and credibility, these digital credentials can help associations to increase the likelihood that members will renew their membership, recommend the association to others in their network, and to attract new members. Associations that embrace this technology can demonstrate their willingness to adapt and innovate, which can be appealing to potential members who are looking for forward-thinking, transformational organizations to join. As the use of verifiable credentials continues to grow, more and more associations will inevitably adopt them.
Credivera’s workforce identity solution offers verifiable credentials capabilities that can bring to your association all the above benefits and more. It enables the verification of credentials at the primary source without the need for intermediaries in that process. Put simply, it verifies a worker's ability to perform their job. The types of verifications that Credivera enables include background checks, and verification of education and training, certifications, and memberships. One of the key and unique features of Credivera’s solution is its ability to perform live checks and provide real-time status updates for verification processes.
Please reach out to us and we’ll connect you with one of our product experts to demonstrate our solution and the many benefits it could bring to your association and its members. We firmly believe that those benefits will be obvious when you see our solution’s capabilities first-hand.
About the author: A senior product professional with over 20 years of international experience in both entrepreneurial and corporate settings. Industries of experience include e-commerce payments, fintech / digital banking, payment card acquiring, digital identity / blockchain identity / self-sovereign identity, telecommunications, marketing and advertising, software, and digital stock media.
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