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Online Dating Insider sponsor HonestyOnline is now providing identify verification to speed dating services.

FastLife.com, the world’s largest speed dating service, has partnered with Honestly Online Inc. to launch Prestige Speed Dating, designed exclusively for established singles concerned about the personal history of the people they date. Set to launch Thursday, September 25th in New York City, the innovative new format, which includes a state-of-the-art identity verification check, has already exceeded expectations in registration and enrollment.

The launch, to be held at Touch in Manhattan’s trendy Clinton/Hell’s Kitchen district, will cater to 20 qualified, singles — the country’s very first Prestige daters. To qualify as “Prestige”, candidates must consent to — and pass — Honesty Online’s detailed verification check. Once a candidate’s background has been qualified they may attend the upmarket Prestige Speed Dating events.

I take minor umbrage at FastLife’s claim to be the world’s largest speed dating service. Nonetheless, it’s great to see face-to-face speed dating service implementing verification checks. Can WooMe and SpeedDate be far behind?

Here’s how it works:

Using its proprietary system, Honesty Online only requires singles to provide their name, address and date of birth to verify the validity of their identity, after which singles are asked to answer a series of questions to confirm that the identity is truly theirs. The entire process — which is considered one of the web’s most accurate authentication programs — takes users only a matter of minutes to complete. For the launch event, Honesty Online will also preview a future offering — a credit check of all participants in Prestige’s launch event. In addition, FastLife will require each applicant to fax a copy of their business card reflecting their place of employment and their position within the company as well as submit to a telephone interview with a FastLife representative. Honesty Online will be providing a thorough employment and reference check in the next quarter.

So much for my fake business cards. Good to see Honesty Online continue to add to their core services.

Fastlife offers Prestige-level members their own personal consultants. A great example of that high-touch feeling missing from the online dating experience.

Press release.