Norway
BankID BankAxept AS (Norway) has joined Select ID’s advisory committees. BankID will sit alongside major UK and global financial institutions to help design Select ID’s service and “future proof it for the wave of Reusable Digital IDs set to emerge in the UK, and beyond.”
United Kingdom / United States
Eighty-seven percent of enterprises in the US and UK have implemented or are in the process of rolling out passkeys for workforce authentication, according to a new report by The FIDO Alliance, along with underwriters Axiad, HID, and Thales.
Of these, 47 percent report rolling out a mix of device-bound passkeys (on physical security keys and/or cards) and synced passkeys (synced securely across the user’s devices).
Organisations are prioritizing passkey rollouts to users with access to sensitive data and applications, including the three most commonly cited priority groups: Those requiring access to IP (39 percent), users with admin accounts (39 percent), and users at the executive level (34 percent). Within these deployments, organisations are leveraging communication, training, and documentation to increase adoption.
Passkey deployments are linked to significant security and business benefits. Respondents report moderate to strong positive impacts on user experience (82 percent), security (90 percent), help-center call reduction (77 percent), productivity (73 percent), and digital transformation goals (83 percent).
Groups that do not have active passkey projects cite complexity (43 percent), costs (33 percent), and lack of clarity (29 percent) about implementation as reasons.
Germany / United States
Munich-based identity verification platform provider IDnow has been acquired by the New York-based private equity firm Corsair Capital for an all-cash deal of $295 million (€273 million).
Corsair will acquire a majority stake in the Company from existing shareholders, saying it reinforces its commitment to fuelling IDnow’s growth within the European identity market, and into other regions globally.
Corsair first invested to support the growth of IDnow in October 2019 when it acquired a minority stake in the business.
United States
Identity authorisation network Proof has announced a strategic investment from State Farm Ventures, the corporate venture arm of State Farm, the largest provider of auto and home insurance in the United States. The, said Proof, will accelerate its mission to “combat identity fraud while enhancing efficiency and improving the customer experience in the traditionally paper-heavy insurance sector.”
The company said the investment from State Farm Ventures highlights the growing importance of identity security in the insurance industry, where fraud prevention and secure digital interactions are crucial.
Global
Gartner predicts that by 2026, at least 500 million smartphone users will be regularly making verifiable claims using a digital identity wallet (DIW).
Identity verification (IDV) in the form of a user taking a picture of their identity document and a selfie is commonly used today. It establishes confidence in the identity of a person during a digital interaction when curated credentials do not exist, are not available or do not provide sufficient assurance. However, due to challenges with the traditional IDV model, solutions based on portable digital identity (PDI) have emerged.
“The market is entering a transition period as PDI solutions are starting to mature, which in the next five years, will reduce the demand for standalone IDV,” said Akif Khan, VP Analyst at Gartner.
Estonia / Saudi Arabia
Estonia is to develop a digital identity programme for Saudi Arabia.
According to a report, Estonian-based firm B.EST Solution has inked a deal with its Saudi counterpart Professional Solutions to roll out a digital residency program for the Gulf state. The partnership appears to have the Saudi government’s backing and is designed to attract skilled foreigners to set up shop in the country.
Pundits say the project will rely on blockchain technology as its underlying architecture. The model is expected to follow the blueprint deployed in Estonia featuring extensive remote access to a range of digital and financial services.
In 2024, B.EST signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Saudi for collaborations in digital health, while Estonian-based firm Bamboo Group is forging new infrastructure security ties in the Kingdom.
Moldova
The e-Governance Agency of Moldova (AGE) is participating in the second round of Large-Scale Pilot Projects (LSP) for the EU Digital Identity Wallet (EUDI).
AGE will develop and test secure Business-to-Government solutions to integrate digital wallets with public services across the EU. The initiative supports the widespread adoption of digital identity wallets for both public and private e-services.
Moldova has a preliminary version of a Digital Identity Wallet embedded in the ‘Documents’ module of EVO, the national public services app. Additionally, there are plans to expand the EVOSign authentication tool currently in pilot testing, into a full-fledged electronic signature application.
Global
Okta has reached $1 billion in aggregate sales over the past four years in Amazon Web Services (AWS). Marketplace.
According to Canalys, enterprise software sales via hyperscaler cloud marketplaces are projected to soar to $85 billion by 2028. Okta first listed its secure identity solutions in AWS Marketplace in December 2020 and passed $1 billion in aggregate total contract value in January 2025.
Norway
Digital identity company Signicat has announced it will unify its customer verification capabilities with Anti-Money Laundering (AML) software from Strise. The result will be a single product that will provide businesses with streamlined Know-Your-Customer (KYC) and AML.
The two Norway-based companies say that the collaboration will simplify regulatory processes and enable businesses to meet compliance requirements easier. The new product is aimed at AML and KYC specialists, relationship managers and compliance officers. It is also connected to a wide array of eID schemes and eIDV solutions, with options for advanced authentication and bespoke workflows, according to a release.
Strise provides ALM automation for highly regulated businesses. Its clients include US financial company Corpay, Finland-based financial services group Nordea and Norwegian bank alliance SpareBank 1.
Pakistan
Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) will allow the country’s citizens to deposit cash into accounts of more than 50 banks with the help of biometric verification available in its 9,000 e-Sahulat franchises.
The move is part of a campaign to enhance access to financial services for Pakistanis. NADRA is the central body responsible for the collection, storage and management of biometric data in Pakistan. The e-Sahulat platform was designed to provide digital services while the franchises allow Pakistanis to pay bills, collect pension payments and amend details of their national ID through biometric verification.
The cash-in transactions were introduced thanks to NADRA’s deal with 1Link, the country’s largest payment gateway and switch system. The authority has also partnered with the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to introduce facial recognition verification.
Africa
Smile ID plans to allow financial services companies to combine its products with Plumery’s digital banking platform. The collaboration is aimed at solving two problems for the African financial industry – authentication fraud and expensive digital banking systems. The combination will allow lower implementation costs and a stronger authentication process, the two firms said in a release.
In November, Smile ID announced it has completed 200 million identity verification checks across the African continent.
United States
While recent upheavals within the General Services Administration (GSA) under the Trump administration led by Elon Musk and the so-called Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have led officials to reaffirm Login.gov importance in safeguarding public resources from fraudulent activity, uncertainty about its future remains, says Biometric Update.
Developed to provide a secure, centralised authentication service, Login.gov allows millions of Americans to access government services with a single sign-on.
Thomas Shedd, director of GSA’s Technology Transformation Services (TTS) and An alumi of Musk’s Tesla, has reassured agencies and the public that Login.gov will continue to play a pivotal role in federal anti-fraud initiatives. His statements come in response to concerns arising from the recent dissolution of 18F, the government’s digital consultancy that was instrumental in building Login.gov. Shedd emphasised that Login.gov remains a cornerstone of federal digital security strategy and that its development will proceed without interruption.
“I can assure you that Login.gov’s work carries forward as a critical part of government-wide efforts to promote efficiency and fight fraud,” Shedd wrote in an email. “To that end we are working to accelerate Login’s roadmap. More to come on that soon.”
Fears that Login.gov could be axed by the Trump administration have grown amid increasing concerns over identity fraud in government programmes. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) reported that up to $135 billion in unemployment insurance fraud occurred during the pandemic, much of it enabled by identity theft. Proponents of Login.gov argue that by providing a secure, standardised authentication process, Login.gov serves as a key defence against such fraudulent schemes, ensuring that benefits and services reach their rightful recipients.
United Kingdom
The Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) has published a blueprint for fighting economic crime through the introduction of Digital Company ID.
CFIT said the widespread adoption of Digital Company ID will drive economic growth, by generating significant improvements in productivity and countering the efforts of fraudsters. These findings are substantiated by quantitative analysis of bank onboarding and KYB processes, alongside industry consultation and research. The data projects that Digital Company ID will significantly reduce regulatory and administrative burdens for businesses, particularly SMEs. For financial institutions, this could also lead to an annual reduction in compliance costs of £1.7 billion.
It also claimed that Digital Company ID will help mitigate against the annual £6.8 billion cost of fraud to the UK economy – both directly, through unified and secure data sharing that will disrupt fraud networks and close exploitable gaps, and indirectly, by enabling financial institutions to redeploy compliance savings into strengthening anti-fraud efforts.
To unlock the full potential of Digital Company ID, the Coalition is urging Government, regulators and the wider financial sector to collaborate and put in place the necessary regulatory frameworks and initiatives.
