United Kingdom
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer is moving forward with plans to introduce digital identification systems as part of efforts to overhaul the country’s asylum and immigration system, with an announcement anticipated as early as his party’s conference this month, the Financial Times reported on Friday.
But elsewhere, Ministers have claimed that a proper assessment has not yet been made of the costs and other implications of delivering such a system.
Public Technology reports that MPs, predominantly from the Conservatives or Reform, have filed numerous written parliamentary questions seeking more details of these explorations, as well as how a mandatory identity scheme might work in practice and the cost and operational implications.
In response, DSIT junior minister Kanishka Naraya reiterated comments previously made by colleagues suggesting that the UK will study other countries where digital ID has been implemented, but added that government is not yet in a position to comment on the possible cost or other potential implications.
Oman
Certified electronic versions of Oman’s national ID card and driver’s licence are now legally recognised across the Sultanate, the Royal Oman Police (ROP) announced.
The ROP said that citizens and residents can access the documents directly through its official website, with no requirement to carry physical copies.
First Lieutenant Salem bin Saeed Al Farsi, project manager for digital identity at the ROP, emphasised that the electronic documents carry the same legal validity as their hard-copy counterparts.
United States
America needs a “federal digital identity strategy” that recognises credentials people can use online as “critical infrastructure, Persona Director of Government Affairs Will Wilkinson has argued in an editorial for Fortune.
Wilkinson points out that close to half of states are currently or working towards issuing mobile driver’s licences (mDLs) and state ID cards. He points out that the recent White House Working Group on Digital Asset Markets report notes the importance of digital identity for the crypto industry.
“That’s great, but in an increasingly online world, problems of identity and trust pervade nearly every service and system, not just crypto networks,” wrote Wilkinson. “Infrastructure-level problems demand infrastructure-level solutions. That begins with a federal framework for digital identity.”
Wilkinson is not advocating for a national ID card, he says, or doing away with physical credentials. The internet needs to be improved an identity layer that makes it more useful for people than its initial architecture as a network for computers allows, he argues. Getting that layer right, though, will mean making commitments “to openness, privacy, and the common good.”
Europe
Jumio has announced its support for eIDAS-compliant electronic IDs in 16 European countries, enabling users to verify their identity using their national eIDs through Jumio’s web and mobile SDKs.
Germany
Lufthansa has partnered with Amadeus to test the European Union Digital Identity (EUDI) Wallet for travel.
The trial, which was conducted between the end of July and the middle of August and part of the EU Digital Wallet Consortium (EWC) initiative, focused on the online check-in process and airport services such as bag drop, security gates and boarding.
The airline also had a group of its frequent flyers use the digital token to test the online check-in process, with 153 out of 160 managing to complete the process successfully.
Global
The OpenID Foundation (OIDF), a global leader in open identity standards, has approved three Final Specifications, establishing the first global standards for real-time security event sharing across digital identity systems.
The approved Final Specifications are:
- OpenID Shared Signals Framework 1.0 – Enables secure, real-time delivery of security events between any connected systems
- OpenID Continuous Access Evaluation Profile (CAEP) 1.0 – Defines how systems communicate session changes to maintain continuous security
- OpenID Risk Information Sharing and Coordination (RISC) 1.0 – Establishes standards for sharing account security changes between services
France
France-based startup Continuum Identity has emerged from stealth mode.
Led by Idemia veteran Nicolas Garcia, Continuum Identity bills its portfolio as “practical solutions for digital identity.” It includes a CID platform for identity and access management (IAM), physical access control systems, visitor management systems and digital KYC software for identity verification.
Latvia
The Latvian State Radio and Television Centre (LVRTC) says that the use of national electronic identification and e-signature tools has more than doubled over the past three years, reports Labs of Latvia.
At present, one in three residents aged 14 and older use the ‘eParaksts’ digital signing tool for identity verification and to sign documents, with eParaksts mobile being the most popular option.
“It is important to note that the use of secure digital solutions has continued to grow rapidly even after the pandemic. This growth is mainly driven by eParaksts mobile, whose use for identity verification has increased by 421 percent since 2022, exceeding 19.5 million uses in the first eight months of this year. Currently, eParaksts mobile is used 2.5 million times a month for identity verification – one million times more monthly than last year,” said LVRTC Chairman of the Board Ģirts Ozols.
Use of eID cards and smart cards for identity verification is also on the rise — this year it has already exceeded 2.7 million instances, 78 percent more than in 2022.
Africa
South African Integrated Digital Identity and e-KYC platform, Contactable, has secured USD $13.5 million in new capital from a round led by Venture Capitalworks along with co-investors including Fireball Capital, Ke Nako Capital and MAVOVO to accelerate its Africa expansion strategy and commercialise its next generation of technologies.
Africa’s Digital Identity solutions sector is expected to reach USD $3.4 billion by 2028.
United Kingdom
Credas has launched the Credas Compliance Wallet, which it said has been designed to eliminate repeat checks, reduce friction and combat rising fraud risks across regulated sectors. Each wallet carries a verified identity and a complete compliance profile – including PEPs and sanctions screening, AML checks, digital address verification and ongoing monitoring – enabling “faster onboarding with minimal friction that can be shared at the click of a button.”
Although designed for use across regulated industries, the wallet will first be rolled out in the property market, where compliance duplication remains a challenge.
Nick Ledingham, chief commercial officer at Credas, said: “On average, each property transaction involves 5.4 identity checks, while over 250,000 ID fraud cases were reported in 2024 alone. The Credas Compliance Wallet addresses this head-on by creating a shareable, interoperable solution that provides a one-time fraud audit trail of verification. With 15 million wallets available at launch and compatibility with Apple, Google and Government ID wallets, we are building an industry-wide solution that works with – not against – existing systems.”
