Digital Identity: Global Roundup

Nigeria

Peter Obi, former presidential candidate of Nigeria’s Labour Party, has launched a new digital identity system for members of the Obidient Movement, featuring an online registration portal and secure ID cards for both domestic and international supporters.

The online portal allows members in Nigeria and abroad to submit registration forms that undergo verification before ID card issuance.

Hong Kong

Hong Kong banks should use a government platform to verify new customers, experts have said, after eight people were arrested for allegedly using deepfake software to alter lost identity cards to set up new accounts.

Experts told the Post that the inability of banks to verify personal data during the application process and their reliance on photos had made them vulnerable to scammers.

Police have announced the arrest of eight people accused of opening bank accounts using deepfake images pasted onto identity cards previously reported lost. They said that 30 out of the 44 recorded attempts to open new accounts had been successful, resulting in more than HK$1 million (US$128,900) being laundered.

Sources told the Post that many of the banks involved in such cases were virtual ones, but noted that traditional organisations had also been affected.

Global

Incognia has announced the launch of Incognia ID, a new digital identity platform that combines device intelligence with location behaviour analysis to enhance fraud prevention capabilities. The platform is designed to move beyond traditional device fingerprinting methods by creating a persistent, behavioral identifier for users based on their typical location patterns and device characteristics.

In performance testing, Incognia claims its new solution delivers a 17-fold improvement in accuracy compared to facial recognition systems, offering enhanced resistance to spoofing and identity theft. The platform’s underlying technology collects and processes multiple signals — including GPS, WiFi, Bluetooth, and cellular data — to establish a dynamic location-based profile for each user.

Global

Thales said it now powers one in three smart civil IDs (official electronic documents) issued worldwide.

Thales supports more than 300 national identity programmes and enrolled 500 million people in its Civil Identity Suite. This enables the issuance and management of both physical and digital identities, and enrolling citizens and enabling ID verification for access to services, both in-person and online.

United Kingdom

Google has expanded its digital identification capabilities in the United Kingdom, enabling residents to create and store digital ID passes using their UK passports within Google Wallet.

Residents can now add a digital version of their UK passport to Google Wallet by opening the app, tapping “Add to Wallet,” selecting “ID,” and following prompts to take a photo of their passport and record a selfie video for identity verification. The feature is designed primarily for age and identity verification purposes and is not intended to replace physical identification for official use or travel.

At launch, Google partnered with the Rail Delivery Group to enable train travellers to verify eligibility for select Railcards using their digital ID. In addition, Google is working with the UK’s Department for Science, Innovation, and Technology (DSIT) to expand the digital ID’s applications, including potential use for age verification in alcohol purchases and other regulated services.

United Kingdom

The Government Digital Service (GDS) has yet to achieve conformance with key national cybersecurity standards for its Gov.uk One Login digital identity system, nearly three years since security concerns were first raised.

Computer Weekly reports that the One Login team is still working to fully meet National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) guidelines. It said it has learned that the team only complies with 21 of the 39 outcomes detailed in the NCSC Cyber Assessment Framework (CAF) – an improvement on the five outcomes it successfully followed a year ago.

Global

Digital payments company Checkout.com has launched face authentication, an AI-powered extension to its Identity Verification (IDV) solution.

The new feature enables businesses to verify and re-authenticate returning users in seconds using live video and facial matching. IDV now uses AI-based facial matching and liveness detection to verify users against their onboarding data, while detecting spoofing attempts like deepfakes, masks, or video injection. The feature can be triggered at any point in the user journey, and is fully automated, removing the need for passwords, one-time codes, or manual review.

United States

Verified identity platform Persona has announced a $200 million Series D funding round, bringing the company’s valuation to $2 billion. The round was co-led by Founders Fund and Ribbit Capital, with participation from existing investors including BOND, Coatue, First Round Capital, and Index Ventures.