Singapore
Cryptocurrency-fiat exchange Liquid Group has announced integration with Singpass, Singapore’s digital identity tool, to allow users from Singapore to verify their Liquid account within minutes.
Liquid has applied for a licence under the Payment Services Act (PSA) with the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). It is currently under review, and in the meantime, is operating under the exemption.
When users sign-up for a Liquid account they can choose to complete their verification via Singpass to be able to synchronise their Singpass details with Liquid and complete full verification to start trading, buying cryptocurrency, and earning rewards on Liquid.
UK
A digital identity scheme for the residential property market has been launched with five technology companies joining the pilot stage.
Created by technology provider Etive following a grant from Innovate UK, the goal of the digital identity scheme MyIdentity is to enable property buyers and sellers to prove their identity once, rather than having to do so multiple times. This is expected to reduce completion times for transactions.
The scheme kicked off with identity service providers Digidentity, Nuggets, OBiD, Thirdfort, and Yoti. The pilot runs from November 2021 to August 2022 and more providers are expected to join the initiative in 2022.
France
Digital ID may soon be a requirement for social media participation, as both France and the UK have taken steps toward the ban of anonymous social media accounts.
The website of the French Senate published a new bill proposing the creation of an independent supervisory authority in charge of collecting user identities when they register with online platforms.
According to Conservative Senator Alain Cadec, the creation of the new law would stop an observed increase in cyberbullying and make it easier to prosecute potential offenders.
According to the new document, submitting a scan of their ID upon registration would make users aware that they can be identified quickly, and therefore serve as a deterrent against offending behaviors.
Australia
More than 600,000 MyGov accounts are now connected to a digital identity, according to Charles McHardie, deputy CEO of Services Australia.
Nearly four million digital identities have been created via myGovID, allowing them to sign into their MyGov account and access government services. Some 82,000 of these use biometric, or face recognition, technology.
The new enhanced MyGov platform, which will integrate digital identity, biometric verification, and allow data to be shared across government.
“Once fully implemented digital identity will allow eligible customers to do their businesss online while also preventing them from having to prove their identity in person over and over again to access services,” said McHardie.
“For government, digital identity is a reusable capability that allows agencies to deal with customers through digital channels with higher confidence and reduces expensive physical identity verification processes.”
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is reportedly planning to introduce a biometric passport in the coming months with advanced security features that will make the travel document less prone to fraud.
Citing local media outlet Al-Arabiya, Siasat writes that the announcement was made recently by assistant minister of interior in charge of technical affairs, Prince Bandar Bin Abdullah Al Mashari, during the GITEX Technology Week 2021 which took place at the Dubai World Trade Center. He said the passports will be available in the next few months.
The deputy minister was also quoted as saying it is also now possible for the national digital ID to be renewed online with the applicant submitting their biometrics such as fingerprints.
The new biometric passport will have an embedded electronic processor chip that contains the applicant’s biometric information which can be used to authenticate the identity of the passport holder.
UAE
In the United Arab Emirates (UAE), reports say about 2.2 million people have already signed up to digital ID, with close to 150 entities already taking part in the digital identity project, as of mid-October.
According to Middle East in 24, federal and government agencies currently offer about 7,000 digital services and at least 7,000 persons are registering their biometrics for the ID system daily. This as the number of registrants for the new digital ID platform has passed the two million mark.
The plan of the Emirates government, the report adds, is to get everyone in the country have a digital ID by the year 2023.
Philippines
Filipino authorities have projected that up to 50 million citizens will be registered for the biometrics-embedded PhilID card by the close of the year, as people continue to open bank accounts thanks to the digital ID document. Permanent ID service centers are also planned for next year.
“Our target is 50 million by the end of the year, we are confident we can achieve that despite the challenges of the pandemic,” said Director General of the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA), Karl Kendrick Chua speaking at a Senate Committee hearing, reports the Philippine News Agency (PNA) reports.
As of October 8, there were 35.9 million individuals who had completed Step 2 of registration which qualifies them for the digital ID card.
Japan
SAFR from RealNetworks has recently been selected by the Japanese government to provide its face biometrics technology to support the country’s digitalisation initiatives.
SAFR will provide its facial recognition tools to enable user authorization of the ‘My Number’ ID card, a new digital ID set to replace traditional paper documents in Japan.
The My Number Card is currently being rolled out across the country and is estimated to reach hundreds of thousands of hospitals, clinics, and pharmacies in the next three years.
Once rolled out, the biometric technology will enable access to Japan’s universal healthcare system by allowing citizens to confirm their identity via specialized card readers, replacing multiple ID cards currently needed to access different government services.
To facilitate the diffusion of the facial authentication technology, SAFR will collaborate with the Japanese government in the manufacturing of the My Number Card readers, which will come with built-in face biometrics capabilities.
