As physical visas and ID cards are phased out and digital wallets and online verification take their place, the UK government and its partners face the delicate balancing act of delivering secure, trusted systems without locking out legitimate users. That was the central theme of a lively panel discussion on digital identity and borders at Think Digital Identity and Cybersecurity for Government this week.
The discussion brought together experts from government and industry: Mark Salmon, head of product for migration and borders technology at the Home Office; Jeb Cordery, head of business analysis for the Digital Identity programme at GDS; Ron Atzmon, co-founder of AU10TIX; and James Crawshaw, fraud and ID solutions consultant at TransUnion.
Breaking down silos
Reflecting on seven years of change in migration systems, Salmon described the shift from a “very transactional” model to one built on re-usable digital trust.
“Every time somebody needed to prove their identity, we were re-establishing trust,” he said. “Our first steps away from that came with remote interpretation, e-visas and our first customer account. We started to let users reuse their data – biometrics and signals – across interactions. That has been crucial in breaking down silos, not just across government, but even within departments.”
Today, he said, the Home Office is extending that principle by sharing authoritative data with services like One Login, enabling people to authenticate once and use that credential across multiple services.
Re-using trust
Cordery agreed that inheritance of trust is key. “We’ve always been very keen to go and inherit that trust from the Home Office side,” he said. “It’s about reducing barriers for people who need to legitimately access services.”
One major change has been the decommissioning of biometric residence permits (BRPs). Until recently, these smart cards were used as physical proof of immigration status. But from December 2024, BRPs will no longer be valid. “That creates a necessity to move to more authoritative source checking,” Cordery explained. “We’re now looking to leverage APIs directly from the Home Office, so that rather than someone presenting a card, we can check the status at source.”
This approach will also improve efficiency. “It’s not just about logging in once,” Cordery added. “It’s about making sure trust that was established earlier – in passports, visas or interviews – can be reused seamlessly in One Login and beyond.”
Friction as a feature
The panel returned to the theme of friction – the extra checks that add inconvenience but also provide assurance. Said Crawshaw: “Friction is not our enemy. Friction brings in the level of trust.”
He illustrated the point with everyday examples. “If I’m letting a locksmith into my house, I want him to verify I am the person who lives there – that’s a moment where friction is essential. But if I’m buying alcohol, I don’t want to show two forms of ID. The trick is introducing the right level of friction for the right situation.”
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Cordery echoed the point, noting that GDS services use different “confidence levels” depending on the stakes. “The vast majority of our services use medium confidence – a solid level,” he said. “But we have our first high-confidence service coming soon, because it involves access to large sums of money. In that case, extra friction is not just acceptable, it’s necessary.”
Usability and user demand
While security is paramount, usability cannot be ignored. Cordery pointed to the upcoming digital veterans card as a good example. “At the moment, veterans have to carry a physical card that shows everything about them. With a digital wallet credential, they can just prove the one attribute they need – eligibility for a discount – without oversharing.”
This, he argued, meets a genuine public demand. “Look at how many people already have items in their Apple or Google wallets. People want convenience. They want to carry less, and show less.”
Atzmon agreed, but cautioned that governments must tread carefully. “Usability is important, but friction is critical because government is the source of truth,” he said. “If that source of truth is jeopardised, it undermines everything.”
Towards interoperability
Looking beyond the UK, panellists stressed the importance of international interoperability. Crawshaw warned that identity systems cannot remain siloed. “It’s got to work internationally, and it’s got to work across both public and private sectors. Otherwise we’ll see failures, as we already have in some countries.”
Atzmon highlighted the lack of standardisation worldwide: “In the US alone, there are four different state-level programmes. In Germany, citizens use government services reluctantly for commercial purposes. Without global standards, the risk is fragmentation.”
The road ahead
Despite the challenges, all panellists struck an optimistic note. “Deepfakes are in the headlines, but the reality is they’re designed to fool humans, not machines,” said Crawshaw. “With liveness checks and automated systems, AI can actually make digital verification safer.”
Salmon concluded that government has already proven digital identity can work. “E-visas, passports, customer accounts – these have shown that digital processes can be reliable,” he said. “Now the task is to use our data smarter, to make it easier for users and deliver more efficient systems.”
For Cordery, the mission is clear: “We’ve made great progress, but there’s still work to do. We need breadth of coverage, interoperability across nations, and continuous investment in fraud prevention. It’s going to be an interesting time – but it’s also an exciting one.”
