Thailand
One of Thailand’s major financial institutions, Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), is implementing new security measures requiring customers’ SIM card registrations to match their banking app account names.
Under the new policy, customers must ensure that the name registered on their mobile SIM card exactly corresponds to the name on their SCB Easy App account. The measure comes as Thailand prepares to implement mandatory biometric authentication for SIM card registration in 2025, marking a shift in the country’s approach to digital identity verification.
United Kingdom
Research from digital verification platform Umazi, reveals a gap between risk awareness and real-world action among UK businesses, many of which are still relying on gut instinct and goodwill over hard verification when choosing suppliers, partners and clients.
According to the findings in its report, Broken ID, Broken Growth: The UK’s Verification Chokehold, nearly 30 percent of UK businesses admit they don’t request any documentation when engaging with a business that has a “recognised industry name.” Moreover, 29 percent of organisations say they knowingly accept the risk of working with entirely unverified businesses.
Despite growing concern over corporate identity theft, data breaches and fraud, more than 20 percent of businesses say they perform no due diligence at all – citing a lack of tools or knowledge to do so.
New Zealand
The Department of Internal Affairs has delivered new digital identity rules, developed by the digital regulator in consultation with the private sector, digital identity vendors, and in line with international standards and best practice.
The new Digital Identity Services Trust Framework rules will support a wider range of documents, including photo IDs, licences and qualifications and allow digital credentials to be presented online.
They will also clarify that digital wallets should not just display credentials on a screen, but also support secure, real-time verification to keep information safe and private. Digital credentials must also be checked to make sure they are real.
The rules further protect privacy by stopping an issuer from tracking your digital ID.
“The department is improving its rules to deliver safer, more secure and more connected services in the digital world,” secretary for Internal Affairs Paul James said. “Digital identity allows you to prove who you are and information about yourself both online and in-person. Technology never stands still, and neither should regulation.”
Internal Affairs also posted a notice saying it would issue a tender to identify a supplier for a single, standards-based digital credential issuance platform.
Republic of Congo
The Republic of Congo has launched a high-level national workshop aimed at developing a new digital identity system as part of its broader digital transformation agenda. Convened in Brazzaville, the multi-stakeholder workshop brought together government officials, private sector actors, international partners, and development agencies to outline a digital identity roadmap.
The initiative is backed by the Digital Transformation Acceleration Project (PATN), funded by the World Bank with an investment of $100 million, and is being led by the African Centre for Artificial Intelligence (CARIA), under the Ministry’s supervision. Technical support is also being provided by international partners such as Thales.
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH) can now access a digital version of their ID card, driver’s licence, and passport thanks to the country’s newly launched digital identity app, e-IDDEEA.
The state-issued digital identity and qualified electronic signature (QES) platform was introduced by the Agency for Identification Documents, Registers and Data Exchange (IDDEEA) of Bosnia and is fully aligned with the eIDAS regulation.
The government has plans to attract more than half a million users within the first year, accounting for more than 17 percent of its 2.9 million population.
The project was funded by Europe’s EU4DigitalSME fund and the government of Germany. The creator of the digital ID wallet is Croatia-based Identyum, reports Biometric Update.
Belize
The Cabinet of Belize has given the greenlight for a countrywide rollout of a biometrics-based national digital ID system, which the government says will happen within the next three years.
The approval comes after a successful pilot of the project which is overseen by the e-Government and Digitalization Unit of the Ministry of E-Governance.
According to authorities, the digital ID will serve as the unique identification tool for all citizens and legal residents, and aligns with the nation’s 2022-2025 digital transformation strategy. It is also meant to simplify access to public and private sector services by bringing in greater “efficiency, transparency and responsiveness.”
Philippines
The Philippines Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Center is requesting Expressions of Interest (EOIs) from eligible consulting firms from Asian Development Bank member countries as it seeks Transaction Advisory Services for the Philippines Digital National Identity Project.
The government is looking to upgrade its national ID and the infrastructure backing it as it expands and fortifies one of its signature digital public infrastructure projects. The tender is part of an overall plan to transform the country’s fortunes with the aid of digital transformation.
The estimated project cost is Php 1.28 billion ($22.4m) with the contract period for the project set as 15.5 years (with a half year expected for the development period). The implementing agency is the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), and the private proponent is the Unisys Public Sector Services Corporation.
United Kingdom
The UK’s Treasury will release guidance on the use of digital IDs for identity verification in anti-money laundering (AML) regulations. The guidance will be published with the help of the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT), the agency overseeing the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA).
The news was announced as part of the Treasury’s response to a public consultation on improving the country’s money laundering regulations (MRLs). In the document, the government pledges to ease compliance with identity verification requirements in the MLRs, including by encouraging the uptake of digital ID technologies.
“In line with feedback from the consultation, this guidance will provide clarity on the definition of a digital identity, and give further detail on how digital identities can be used in line with the MLRs’ risk-based approach,” said the document.
The guidance will also clarify how anti-money laundering regulation interacts with the UK digital identity and attributes trust framework, governed by the newly introduced Data (Use and Access) Act. The Act establishes digital ID standards and a register of digital ID services certified against these standards.
“The certification process is recognised by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service, and means that certified digital identity services are subject to regular audits,” says the document. “This meets respondents’ asks from the MLRs consultation to set up government accreditation and standards for digital identity technologies.”
United Kingdom
Entrust and PlaySafe ID are partnering to deliver verified digital identity solutions for the online gaming sector. The collaboration is designed to support safer digital experiences while enabling gaming companies to comply with new UK child protection regulations under the Online Safety Act.
The partnership brings together Entrust’s identity verification technology and PlaySafe ID’s secure gaming platform to help operators reduce fraud, confirm user identities, and safeguard younger players, while maintaining user privacy, reports ID Tech Wire.
United Kingdom
Yoti has released its latest facial age estimation white paper, showing improved accuracy for all ages, most notably for young people aged 13-17. This comes as the UK’s Online Safety Act comes into force, requiring platforms to introduce highly age checks, of which facial age estimation is an approved method.
13-17 year olds now have a Mean Absolute Error (MAE) of 1.1 years; giving regulators and businesses increased confidence in the technology when considering 15+/- or 16+/- minimum age limits for social media.
There is improved accuracy for 18-24 year olds, with MAE reducing to 2.1; another key age group for online safety.
99.3 percent of 13 to 17 year olds will be correctly estimated as under the age of 21, and 99 percent of 6 to 12 year olds will be correctly estimated as under the age of 13.
Yoti is now calling on the two key UK regulators, Ofcom and the ICO, to give guidance on the thresholds platforms should use for facial age estimation.
Bermuda
Bermuda has issued a second consultation paper as the British Island territory advances efforts toward putting in place a new regulatory framework to guide the activities of Digital Identity Service Providers (DISPs).
Released on July 21 by the Bermuda Monetary Authority (BMA), comments on the paper are welcome till September 2.
The 23-page document provides details about how DISPs will be regulated; the different categories under which they will be placed; the determination, restriction and withdrawal of licences, their scope of activities, outsourcing rules, issues around cybersecurity, compliance, governance and disciplinary measures, among other aspects.
The paper proposes a three-tiered structure to support different maturity levels of DISPs, which outlines licence class, purpose of the licence and the minimum capital required and application fee to be paid.
Malaysia
Malaysia’s government is looking at the possibility of making MyDigital ID registration mandatory as the flagship digital transformation initiative has seen limited adoption by the public.
MyDigital ID registrations rose to 2.8 million in the second quarter of 2025, jumping from 1.8 million in the first quarter, this represents roughly 10 percent of Malaysia’s adult population.
New use cases include logging into the MyGOV portal, accessing the MyJPJ app and verifying prepaid SIM card ownership.
