United States
A North Carolina appeals court has blocked students and employees at the state’s flagship public university from providing a digital identification produced by the school when voting to comply with a new photo ID mandate.
The decision by a three-judge panel of the intermediate-level Court of Appeals reverses a decision by the State Board of Elections that the mobile ID generated by the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill met security and photo requirements in the law and could be used.
The Republican National Committee and state Republican Party sued to overturn the decision by the Democratic-majority board, saying the law only allows physical ID cards to be approved.
United Kingdom
Xalient, an IT managed services provider (MSP) specialising in identity, cybersecurity, and networking, has partnered with identity security firm SailPoint. This collaboration brings together Xalient’s identity consulting services with SailPoint’s unified identity security platform to help global “secure their networks, protect critical assets, and ensure compliance with regulatory standards.”
The joint solution comprises a suite of Zero Trust services, incorporating SailPoint’s Identity Security Cloud to deliver unified and tailored identity security solutions, combined with Xalient’s consulting and managed services.
Nigeria
Nigeria’s Federal Executive Council (FEC) has proposed an amendment to a legislation that would require foreigners living in the country to obtain the government issued National Identification Number (NIN). According to local reports, the idea was discussed at a recent FEC meeting in Abuja.
At the moment, foreign nationals living in Nigeria are not allowed to obtain the biometric digital ID.
Special Adviser to the Nigerian President on Information and Security Bayo Onanuga explained that part of the reason is to bring expatriates into the country’s formal tax system. The NIMC Act amendment bill was proposed alongside the Economy Stabilization Bill which also aims to identify and tax foreigners who work and earn income in Nigeria, as per Biometric Update.
Europe
Signicat has launched an Open Banking Hub.
Designed as a “secure and consensual way” of verifying someone’s personal information via their bank account, Signicat’s Open Banking Hub offers broader identity verification options to consumers, while more security for businesses when verifying ownership of a bank account, affordability or account information. The process verifies that a person possesses a bank account and its legitimacy, offering the integrity of data like the name and bank account of the holder of the account.
Germany
The German government has announced plans to develop a state digital wallet for smartphones, enabling citizens to digitally identify themselves across the EU. This initiative is part of the European Wallet for Digital Identity project, which aims to allow secure and easy digital identification via smartphones for various activities, including job applications, online banking, and interactions with authorities. The EUDI Wallet will also support digitally storing identity data and official documents, and signing with a qualified electronic signature.
India
The Indian government has stepped in to shut down websites after a suspected Aadhaar data breach.
Under the Aadhaar Act, personal information is prohibited to be publicly accessible and shared in any domain, falling on the Unique Identification Authority of India (UIDAI) to make complaints to the police about the unspecified sites.
The IT Ministry said: “It has come to the notice of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology that a few websites were exposing sensitive identifiable information including Aadhaar Card and PAN details of Indian citizens. The matter has been taken up seriously and the government accords highest priority to safe cyber security practices,” reported Identity Week.
United Kingdom
Lloyd’s Banking Group has converted a £10 million loan it granted to identity verification firm Yoti in February 2023 into equity in the biometrics firm. In a release announcing the commitment, Yoti CEO Robin Tombs says the company, which provides biometric ID verification, age verification and age estimation, is “confident that securing the UK’s largest banking group by customer numbers as a shareholder will help accelerate the adoption of reusable digital ID in the UK market.”
Bhutan
The Kingdom of Bhutan is the first national digital identity programme in the world to join the Global Acceptance Network, which is operated by a dedicated foundation.
The Global Acceptance Network (GAN) is a cross-sector initiative in support of making verifiable data available, trusted and interoperable. The GAN was soft-launched on September 17 with more than 30 founding member organisations.
Bhutan is joining the GAN as an ecosystem member, which positions it to integrate its NDI with other digital identity systems and trust ecosystems, according to the announcement. Doing so would allow Bhutanese people to use their digital credentials around the world.
Lithuania
Lithuanian -based RegTech and identity verification company iDenfy have announced a partnership with FinCause, a newly launched electronic money institution (EMI) regulated by the Bank of Lithuania. Through this collaboration, iDenfy aims to automate FinCause’s Know Your Customer (KYC) process, ensuring more conversions through a simple, four-step verification process for B2B clients across the European Economic Area (EEA) and Asian companies operating in EEA.
Malaysia
Zetrix, a layer-1 public blockchain platform, has launched an application that enables official identities of Chinese nationals to be authenticated and verified digitally overseas.
Through the ZCert service, Zetrix now simplifies and facilitates electronic Know Your Customer (eKYC) processes for entities outside of China wishing to verify the authenticity of information contained in the digital IDs presented to them by Chinese nationals.
The service has been made possible through Zetrix’s integration to China’s national public blockchain Xinghuo BIF.
Chinese nationals can choose to publish their digital IDs on Xinghuo BIF and upon doing so, the data can then be accessed by verifying entities outside of China through the ZCert service on Zetrix, which operates the Xinghuo International Supernode, known as Astron.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
A digital ID wallet is being developed for citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with an expected launch by mid-2025. Led by the Croatian tech startup Identity Consortium, the project is part of the ‘EU4DigitalSME’ initiative aimed at modernising identification processes through secure electronic identification, authentication, and digital document signing.
EU4DigitalSME focuses on supporting the digital transformation of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Funded by the European Union and supported by the German government, the programme seeks to enhance competitiveness and integration into the broader European digital economy by modernising digital infrastructure and services.
The digital ID wallet will be developed under the Identyum brand in collaboration with Adverta Pro, providing both a backend system and a mobile application. This platform will enable Bosnian citizens to access public and private services using their digital identity, aligning with European regulations and facilitating Bosnia’s integration into the EU digital ecosystem.
Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea has stood up a new digital ID, wallet and online government platform, and plans to pilot them with 10,000 users, starting in the next few weeks.
Pilots of the SevisPass digital ID, the SevisPortal and SevisWallet all launched this week, on a limited basis. The SevisPass is derived from the national ID programme and existing physical IDs, and PNG residents can use it to access government services through the SevisPortal. The SevisWallet app stores the SevisPass.
Seven government services are already available through the SevisPortal, and over the next 12 to 18 months, a “digital ecosystem of public and private services” will be constructed to help boost the national economy, says Steven Matainaho, chairman of the Public Service ICT Steering Committee at the country’s Department of Information & Communications Technology (DICT).
Jordan
Jordan is launching a digital identity activation service for Jordanian expatriates in the United States and Canada.
This service, available through the Sanad app, was established in partnership with IrisGuard and VFS Global, aiming to enhance access to government services for Jordanians living abroad.
According to a press release issued Saturday by the Ministry of Foreign and Expatriates, this new service allows Jordanian citizens residing abroad to activate their digital identities through VFS Global offices.
The service is expected to benefit approximately 200,000 Jordanians residing in the US and Canada.
