Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s digital ID (SL-UDI) for its citizens will be accessible via the eLocker mobile app and current national identity cards, which are supplied by Thales, will remain valid during a 3–5-year transition period.
The Department for Registration of Persons will exclusively administer all data capture processes, ensuring that biometric and personal data collection happens after the system is fully transitioned to local management. Under Sri Lanka law, data ownership remains with the Department for Registration of Persons.
Biometric data, such as face, fingerprint, and iris scans, will be stored encrypted using multi-layer encryption both in transit and at rest. The infrastructure for the overall system will be owned and operated by the Sri Lankan Government, according to Biometric Update.
At the same time, two fundamental rights petitions to halt the implementation of Sri Lanka’s Unique Digital Identity (SL-UDI) programme have been filed in the country’s Supreme Court.
As the SL-UDI is funded by a grant from India, one of the petitions states that the government’s actions pertaining to this project violate constitutional provisions, data sovereignty, national security, and public finance laws.
Nigeria
Nigerians living abroad now have better access to National Identification Number (NIN) services after an upgrade to the platform that enables the delivery of the service.
The National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) said it had onboarded all Diaspora Front-End Partners (FEPs) to the upgraded platform, and had organised “intensive training to equip the FEPs with the prerequisite knowledge on the application and effective management of the new system.”
As soon as the renewed system went live, the NIMC stated that all diaspora FEPs had up to 48 hours to obtain and activate their NIN enrollment licences, and that only compliant partners would be able to provide NIN services to users.
The (NIMC) must also ensure it issues at least 59 million National Identification Numbers (NINs) by December 31, 2026. The objective is in line with revised terms of the Nigeria Identity for Development Project (Nigeria ID4D).
The ID4D project was revised last year following Nigeria’s failure to meet a number of targets related to it.
Canada
Canada’s national standards body has approved a new code of practice for digital identity, based on the Pan-Canadian Trust Framework (PCTF), to guide public and private sector organisations in their implementation of digital ID programmes and digital trust policies.
CAN/DGSI 103-0:2025, “Digital Trust and Identity – Part 0: Techniques – Code of Practice” was published by the Digital Governance Standards Institute (DGSI) following its approval by Technical Committee 4.
The 89-page standard aligns with international frameworks, with DGSI specifically calling out Europe’s eIDAS, international AML group FATF, and the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law (UNCITRAL). The standard also sets out a structured approach to interoperability between digital service providers.
Global
Incode Technologies has acquired AuthenticID to help ensure digital trust as gen AI fraud increases and AI agents become more prevalent.
Incode offers AI tools, including neural networks and large-scale visual language models, that detect and prevent identity fraud in real-time.
Switzerland
The Council of the Swiss Abroad has passed a resolution in favour of the new Electronic Identity Act (Id-e), which will be put to the vote on September 28.
The body, which represents more than 826,000 Swiss citizens living outside Switzerland, emphasises that the Id-e is crucial for simplifying access to administrative services, which is often hampered by geographical distance, time zones and bureaucracy.
According to the Council, the creation of a state digital identity is a key step in developing e-government and paving the way for new forms of political participation, such as e-voting and online collection of signatures for initiatives and referendums. Such tools, it said, would allow expatriates to exercise their political rights in a simpler, safer and more modern way.
Pakistan
Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has implemented updates to its Pak-ID mobile application.
The updated Pak-ID app (version 4.4.3) now enables citizens to track the status of their Computerised National Identity Card (CNIC), B-Form, and Family Registration Certificate (FRC) applications online. The digital tracking capability eliminates in-person visits to NADRA centres, an improvement over the organisation’s previous document delivery services that were limited to specific regions.
Users can complete the entire CNIC modification process digitally through the app, incorporating biometric verification, document uploads, and secure payment processing. Upon approval, updated identity cards are delivered directly to applicants’ addresses.
Scotland
Police in Scotland have confirmed their decision to use live facial recognition (LFR), nearly 10 years after the technology was rolled out by police forces across England and Wales.
Police Scotland still has work to complete around LFR, including taking the time to understand the governance, proportionality, and the high levels of scrutiny that will be required, said Deputy Chief Constable Jane Connors.
Africa
Plans for the building of cross-border digital public infrastructure (DPI) to drive financial inclusion in Southern Africa has been unveiled.
The move aims to ensure the building of shared interoperable DPI through a collaboration between the Committee of Central Bank Governors of the Southern African Development Community (SADC); Co-Develop, the nonprofit fund that promotes the adoption of safe and inclusive DPI; as well as FinMark Trust, a financial inclusion advocacy organisation. Co-Develop is a partner of the 50-in-50 campaign which is also pushing for inclusive, safe and interoperable DPI for country’s of the Global South by 2028.
In a joint announcement, the partners say they hope to put in place Africa’s first regional DPI initiative which will focus on a federated digital Know Your Customer (eKYC) ecosystem across 16 SADC member states. SADC member states include: Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eswatini, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Seychelles, South Africa, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
The idea behind the framework, they say, is to speed up efforts aimed at fighting cross-border financial exclusion, fix existing fragmented national ID systems and encourage the use of shared digital infrastructure.
Germany
Germans are increasing their usage of BundID, but the total number of accounts on the system has fallen.
BundID is the country’s digital ID to access online services for federal, state or local governments.
According to an AFP report, the number of user accounts has fallen by several hundred thousand. The Federal Ministry of Digital Affairs revealed that the number of active BundID accounts as of August 11 is 4.9 million, down from just under 5.3 million at the end of 2024.
However, since May this year, the number of BundID user accounts has increased by an average of 154,000 per month, the ministry spokesperson said. Additionally, the usage per month has doubled since 2024, with the average number of BundID logins rising from around one million to two million per month.
Greece
The Greek government is extending the issuance of unique Personal Citizen Numbers to allow citizens to select their preferred prefix. The public will have until November 5 to complete the process.
The Personal Citizen Number was introduced in May to help unify its digital ID system, replacing multiple separate identification systems previously used. The 12-character alphanumeric identifier contains three prefix characters and a citizen’s existing tax registry number (AFM).
Greece is allowing citizens to choose two of the three prefixes while the third is automatically generated. Citizens can apply to select the prefix through the myInfo application or by visiting Citizens’ Service Centers (KEP) and consular services abroad.
South Korea
South Korea’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI) has begun a project to create an international standard for digital identity wallets.
ETRI aims to define a unified framework so users can store and present government-issued IDs, mobile driver’s licences, student cards, credit cards and more on their smartphones worldwide.
