# Identity Insights Solutions
source: https://developer.mastercard.com/identity-insights-solutions/documentation/index.md

### Overview {#overview}

Identity Insights Solutions is a suite of API-based services designed to enable businesses to make better risk decisions by providing them with access to insights and machine-learning based scores derived from that identity's interactions within Mastercard's Identity and Payments Networks. The insights and scores provided cover all aspects of an identity, including those related to the person(s), the device, and the payment credential present in the interaction, delivering a 360-degree view on the risk associated with an identity.

Identity Insights Solutions is available both as a score only offering, Identity Insights Risk Score (IIRS), and as an expanded offering comprising a selection of scores and signals for richer decisioning capability, Identity Insights for Transactions (IIT).

#### Identity Insights Risk Score {#identity-insights-risk-score}

* Focuses on delivering a single predictive risk score across all aspects of the identity
* Provides a lightweight and easy to integrate risk score solution.

<br />

Identity Insights Solutions provides two levels of transaction decisioning capabilities, from a single predictive risk score, to more comprehensive scores and insights.

Refer to [Identity Insights Risk Score](https://developer.mastercard.com/identity-insights-solutions/documentation/products/identity-insights-risk-score/index.md) for details.

#### Identity Insights for Transactions {#identity-insights-for-transactions}

Identity Insights for Transactions provides comprehensive scores and insights across all aspects of the identity, to include those specific to the person, device, and payment.

This more granular detail enables more advanced risk modeling and targeted rules, improving precision and recall in advanced decisioning.

Refer to [Identity Insights for Transactions](https://developer.mastercard.com/identity-insights-solutions/documentation/products/identity-insights-for-transactions/index.md) for details.
Note: Refer to the [Identity Insights Solutions product page](https://developer.mastercard.com/identity-insights-solutions/product/identity-insights-solutions/index.md) for more information on the benefits of Identity Insights Solutions.

### Who It Is For {#who-it-is-for}

Identity Insights Solutions are applicable to any business providing online services that are dependent on the authenticity of an end-consumer's identity, to include merchants, acquirers, issuers, payment service providers, fraud service providers.

### How It Works {#how-it-works}

Identity Insights Solutions can be used by either a direct customer (Merchant or Acquirer) or by a one-to-many reseller partner (Payment Service Provider or Fraud Platform).

It can be leveraged for pre-authentication, pre-authorization, or post-authorization, and has additional value-add in Payment Services Directive Two (PSD2) markets, where it can help acquirers to optimize their use of Transaction Risk Analysis (TRA) exemptions, removing the friction that is a byproduct of Strong Customer Authentication.

**Direct Customer (Merchant or Acquirer) Model:** The customer who has contracted with Mastercard for the Identity Insights Solutions products, integrates the API and insights directly into their risk decision workflow and model.

**Partner (also known as Payment Service Provider or Fraud Platform) Model:** The Mastercard customer, in this case, the 'partner', integrates Identity Insights Solutions products into their broader suite of products and services and provides either an opt-in or opt-out service offering to their end customers.

#### Pre-Authentication / Authorization Flow {#pre-authentication--authorization-flow}

This diagram provides a high-level view of the pre-checkout flow for either the end-customer or partner model.
![](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/identity-insights-solutions/uploads/how-it-works-overview.png)

##### Execution Steps {#execution-steps}

1. The consumer initiates the transaction with the merchant.
2. The merchant/acquirer queries the Identity Insights Solutions API directly or via a partner to gain person, payment, and device insights on the transaction.
3. The merchant/acquirer leverages the insights for risk decisioning to determine how to proceed with the transaction.
4. Based on the risk decision, the merchant/acquirer will either:
   * Request a frictionless experience (As a TRA exemption in the EU).
   * Request an authentication challenge.
   * Decline to process the transaction.

#### Post-Authorization Flow {#post-authorization-flow}

This diagram provides a high-level view of the post-authorization flow for either the direct customer or partner model.
![](https://static.developer.mastercard.com/content/identity-insights-solutions/uploads/how-it-works-post-auth.png)

##### Execution Steps {#execution-steps-1}

1. The merchant has already successfully authorized the transaction.
2. The merchant queries the Identity Insights Solutions API directly or through a partner to gain person, payment, and device insights on the transaction.
3. The merchant leverages the insights for risk decisioning to determine how to proceed with the transaction.
4. Based on the risk decision, the merchant will either:
   * Proceed with the order without further review.
   * Prioritize the order for further review, incorporating the insights from the Identity Insights Solution API in the review.
   * Decline to proceed with the order, initiating a reversal with the Issuer.

#### Identity Insights Data Sharing {#identity-insights-data-sharing}

Note: This feature is only available to select pilot customers. Contact your customer representative for more details.

When making an IIT/IIRS call, customers can optionally enable Identity Insights Data Sharing, Mastercard's network-enabled data sharing capability that extends the value of the IIT/IIRS integration. 

With Identity Insights Data Sharing enabled, the transaction data submitted in the API request will be shared downstream with relevant issuers and their partners to improve authorization decisioning across the ecosystem. IIT/IIRS creates a multilateral intelligence exchange that benefits all participants.

## Next Steps {#next-steps}

* Refer to the [Use Cases](https://developer.mastercard.com/identity-insights-solutions/documentation/use-cases/index.md) section for details on how to implement the solutions offered by Identity Insights Solutions.

* Refer to the [Implementation Guide tutorial](https://developer.mastercard.com/identity-insights-solutions/documentation/tutorials-and-guides/implementation-guide/index.md) for guidance on leveraging the insights returned from the Identity Insights Solutions API services.