Users of Scottish local authorities’ ‘myaccount‘ service can now use the Yoti Digital Identity app to access a range of online public services such as paying council tax, requesting a parking permit or paying for school meals.
They’ll now be able to use the app to verify their myaccount and access public services in a quick and convenient way, then securely register and log into their myaccount without a username or password.
Approval so to do has been granted by Scotland’s Improvement Service – the national improvement service for local government north of the border, with the body framing the news as “the first step by the Improvement Service to deliver more digital services to Scottish citizens”.
The Improvement Service says in its official announcement of the deal that it “wanted to introduce a better experience for those with smartphones to be able prove who they are online”, selecting Yoti as one of its technology partners to “help transform local and national services through innovation” and “give citizens an easier and safer way to prove their age and entitlement”.
“We committed to further develop the myaccount service to strengthen our offer and our support for digital transformation,” stated the agency’s Interim CEO, Sarah Gadsden.
“It is pleasing to see these new developments come to fruition and we look forward to further build upon these in the coming months.”
Offering the vendor partner perspective, Yoti CEO and Co-founder Robin Tombs added that, “We’re delighted Scottish citizens can now use Yoti to securely log into their myaccount. The Improvement Service can be confident the right person is logging into the account, and in turn, individuals can verify their identity in a simple and secure way, and won’t have the hassle of remembering login details.
“We’re excited to work closely with the Improvement Service and local Scottish councils over the coming months to give citizens more ways to use Yoti.”
The Improvement Service launched ‘myaccount‘ in 2014 to be the simple and secure sign-in service for online public services in Scotland using a single user name and password, providing a secure and trusted authentication service that is standards-based, easy to integrate and free to use. It’s used by 23 councils to allow citizens to access online services securely as well as “My Diabetes My Way,” NHS Scotland service that is enabling patients to securely authenticate themselves on the national Scottish diabetes patient information portal.