Q&A: Unlocking the future of digital identity in government

From providing ease of access to digital services to reducing fraud, cutting costs and driving new forms of economic growth, digital identity has the potential to reshape how citizens, businesses, and government interact. But as Tom Ankers, Director, at Deloitte Digital explains, unlocking that potential requires the delivery of identity solutions and credentials that people and businesses trust, empowers the user, and ultimately provides them with value. The intersection between public and private sectors will be key to maximising adoption of digital credentials in daily life, whilst embracing standardisation will deliver interoperability, resilience and safety in solutions that can transform our daily interactions.

Q: What do you think will be the biggest opportunities for government in the use of identity and digital credentials?

Digital identity has been on the agenda for many years, but it’s no longer a futuristic concept – it’s here and rapidly becoming the foundation of how citizens, businesses and government interact. In the UK, there are more than 2.7 million government service transactions every day, and more than 1.3m interactions with the NHS. Citizens now expect the same level of convenience from government services that they enjoy with their banks, online retailers, or online platforms. The demand is growing, and government is responding.

Government led digital identity platforms along with standardised frameworks for establishing trust in identity proving, are vital steps forward and establish the critical infrastructure needed for a safe and trusted digital identity ecosystem. The transition to digital forms of the credentials we already use in daily life, will create a new opportunity in how those credentials are consumed across all sectors, from healthcare to travel and retail, and much more. Done well, this can dramatically reduce friction, improve user experience and privacy control, and save government significant operational costs.

The potential for Government is to provide secure and trusted services to citizens, drive economic growth, increase government efficiency, and potentially save some of billions lost each year in the UK due to fraud. Trusted and verifiable digital identities can streamline services and reduce overall operating costs for Government.

Q: What are the biggest challenges that government needs to overcome to capitalise on these opportunities?

At Deloitte Digital, we see widespread adoption and integration of identity sharing in daily lives as being the key indication of success, and in achieving that, the single biggest contributing factor is trust. Trust, while providing value and convenience to the identity holder. This is what will commoditise digital identity sharing.

Citizens need to know their data is safe, that their privacy is protected, and that government and businesses will use information responsibly. But to drive adoption they also need value – people don’t adopt technologies simply because they exist; they use them when they make life easier. Apple Pay succeeded not because it was novel but because it reduced friction to a simple “double click and pay” for an activity we perform daily. Digital credentials must deliver similar convenience to drive adoption.

Whilst the benefits of these technologies work well for many, not everyone can – or wants to – engage digitally. The Government must ensure identity solutions are inclusive, and designed to bring everyone along, not excluding those less digitally confident. At times non-digital solutions may be needed.

Safety is a key underpinning of trust. Governments must provide solutions that are secure and resilient against constantly evolving threats such as Gen AI and deepfakes. Standards are key to establishing trust, and providing cyber resilience through threat modelling, testing, and auditing. Governments must move quickly to adopt and combat new innovations, and policy must try and keep up.

In short: trust, safety, and value are the key to driving adoption. If digital credentials provide convenience and meet a need to citizens or business, they will adopt – so long as they have trust in the safety of the technology and data handling that underpins them.

Q: What role does the private sector play in helping Government drive successful adoption?

The private sector plays a key role in creating the ecosystem of use cases that will develop around the consumption of trusted digital credentials. The opportunity is much larger than providing frictionless digital interactions for public services. Private sector can create widespread demand through transformation of existing business processes where an identity must be verified, and the creation of new use cases too – unlocking everyday value and demand for digital credentials with citizens. This presents many opportunities for businesses, operating efficiencies and new revenue streams.

Private sector can create convenience in citizens day to day lives and create new opportunities for themselves. Digital credentials and identity sharing have the potential to remove friction from much of our daily lives, from crossing the border without a document, to proving our age when buying alcohol – private sector will drive adoption of these use cases and overall increase drive and appetite to adopt credentials by the public. It is important to emphasise that no amount of convenience can counterbalance lack of trust. Which is the responsibility of public and private organisations to maintain through the adherence to standard trust frameworks and cyber best practices.

Government can deliver digital credentials and business identities that transforms how citizens and businesses interact with government and each other. The private sector can transform and drive adoption, creating new innovations that reduce friction and increase safety with reduced costs.

Q: What advancements in the identity market and technology might Government be able to take advantage of in the coming years? What are the risks?

Technology and standards are evolving at unprecedented rates. Technological advances in biometrics, AI and standardisation in areas like verifiable credentials open huge possibilities for secure, frictionless identity verification. For example – at the border, facial recognition and digital travel credentials will provide ‘paperless travel’, improving user experience and improving border efficiency. In the US, mobile driving licences are unlocking opportunities to travel domestically, prove identity, and/or age.

Of course, the advancement in technology can also bring new risks, especially those from Generative AI, where new threats like deepfakes are becoming a reality. As technology advances, the opportunities for cybercriminals grow too. Governments and private sector must therefore stay constantly ahead – adapting standards, frameworks, and safeguards. Standards will be critical to providing interoperability, data minimisation, selective disclosure, and secure-by-design principles like zero trust architectures. These ensure that digital identities are not only functional but also resilient.

Q: What is Deloitte Digital’s perspective on how it can help government drive economic growth and security through digital identity?

Deloitte Digital see digital identity solutions and credentials as having the potential to unlock automation and provide efficient governments, drive economic growth through creation of new use cases and business opportunities, and provide increased public safety in the UK, and at our borders.

For government, efficiencies come from automation of onboarding costs, lower manual processing, and reduced exposure to fraud. For businesses, trusted digital identities open opportunities for smoother transactions, better compliance, and increased consumer confidence and experience. As adoption grows, so too will the economic impact through new revenue streams and business opportunities that will grow around the potential of digital credentials. For the citizen, they get control of their identity, increased convenience, better user experiences when interacting with government and private businesses, and trust in the services they use and access every day.

At Deloitte Digital, we help government design and deliver these systems in a way that balances experience, security, inclusivity, and innovation – delivering digital services that people trust. We support in the delivery of digital identity national infrastructure, and drive transformation of business processes that consume digital identities, driving adoption and value to citizens and business alike.