United Kingdom
Deloitte has been retained by the UK’s Government Digital Service (GDS) to both support, maintain and improve the existing GOV.UK ID Check native mobile app and deliver a new and strategic GOV.UK app for the Digital Identity programme. The award comes two and a half years on from the firm securing the deal to develop the current software. The two-year call-off contract is valued at £42 million.
Global
More than 70 percent of consumers in Brazil, France, Germany, the UK and US are using a digital wallet, according to research from Pymnts Intelligence.
Additionally, more than 29 percent of global users say they would likely use their digital wallet for verifying identity or age in the next three years. Another 26 percent said they would use wallets for storing and accessing identity documents, according to the digital payments research firm.
Three quarters of government-issued digital wallet app users report being “very or extremely satisfied” with them, and the approval rates are even higher for digital wallets issued by Apple (79 percent), Google (81 percent) and Samsung (84 percent).
Sweden / United States
Ericsson is selling its majority stake in iconectiv, its number portability and digital identity business, to Koch Equity Development. It expects to make $1 billion/€921million in cash from the deal.
iconectiv is based in New Jersey in the US and the Swedish vendor became the owner of it as part of the acquisition of Telcordia back in 2012.
Francisco Partners acquired just short of a 17 percent stake in 2017 for $200 million which valued the business then at about $1.2 billion.
Subject to the usual regulatory approvals, the parties expect that the transaction to be finalised in the first half of next year.
Somalia
Government officials and representatives from partner organisations in Somalia recently met to discuss how to lay a solid legal and governance foundation for the country’s digital identification system.
The discussions took place for three days in the capital Mogadishu, and included officials from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and civil society organizations, as reported by Nation.
Participants looked at how Somalia can benefit from the experience of other countries that are successfully implementing digital identification projects, and leverage on the support provided by international development organisations such as the UN and some of its agencies.
Somalia’s digital ID project is already benefiting from the assistance of Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA).
Meanwhile, Somalia has introduced a national digital identification aimed at enhancing its banking services across the country.
This follows a partnership between the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA) and the Somali Bankers Association (SBA).
NIRA Director General Abdiwali Tima’adde said the partnership will advance Somalia’s economy while aligning business practices with global standards and reducing financial risks such as fraud and money laundering.
United States
The White House is about to throw its support behind state issuance of mobile driver’s licences (mDLs), in part to fill the role of digital identity in securing government benefits issuance against fraud.
A draft executive order yet to be signed by US President Joe Biden will “strongly encourage the use of digital identity documents,” Notus reports, via Biometric Update.
Estimates for how much financial aid was fraudulently collected from U.S. public coffers during the pandemic start at $80 billion, and stronger identity verification through digital IDs and biometric authentication has since been a priority for many government departments.
The draft order reportedly instructs federal agencies to provide an alternative to face biometrics checks, and also bans the sale or repurposing of biometric data by government bodies and contractors alike.
At the same time, Credence ID has expanded its mDL verification platform to include digital IDs from Ohio, New York, and Virginia. This expansion increases the platform’s coverage, offering a more comprehensive solution for verifying individuals with mDLs across multiple states and international territories.
In addition, Credence ID has integrated the American Association of Motor Vehicle Administrators (AAMVA) Digital Trust Service (DTS) into its platform. This integration ensures the authenticity of mDLs by managing trust certificates from all issuing jurisdictions. Organisations can now select jurisdictions that align with their specific verification needs, providing a scalable solution for verifying identities or ages of individuals from states with a combined population of nearly 100 million.
United States
The US Department of Commerce’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has updated its draft digital identity guidance.
The revised draft from NIST “highlights the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to strengthening anti-fraud controls while ensuring broad and equitable access to digital services,” said Jason Miller, deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget.
“By incorporating feedback from private industry, federal agencies, privacy and civil rights advocacy groups, and members of the public, NIST has developed strong and fair draft guidelines that, when finalised, will help federal agencies better defend against evolving threats while providing critical benefits and services to the American people, particularly those that need them most.”
NIST is seeking public comment on this new iteration, which is intended to make access to online services both secure and straightforward, regardless of the means by which a person chooses to prove their identity.
