United States
Human.tech by Holonym has launched Wallet-as-a-Protocol (WaaP), a new architecture designed to replace browser plugins and centralised wallet-as-a-service models.
Holonym said instead of relying on proprietary infrastructure, WaaP offers a universal, protocol-level wallet with no seed phrases, no vendor lock-in, and no single point of failure. Built on a two-party computation (2PC) system that splits custody between user and client, it aims to eliminate security risks such as blind signing, app-level exploits, and account fragmentation. Users can log in with email, phone, or Google, while developers gain integration and on-chain policy tools such as MFA, transaction limits, and allowlists.
The company says more than two million users are already transitioning to WaaP-powered infrastructure through partners like Ika, with deployments expanding across trading and humanitarian applications in Africa and beyond.
Global
A new report from Biometric Update and Goode Intelligence, the 2025 Digital Identity Verification Market Report & Buyers Guide, projects the global market for online identity verification will surpass $18.2 billion by 2027 while undergoing a major shift toward the adoption of reusable IDs.
“Government services are moving online and regulators are demanding identity verification in an expanding set of use cases just as the industry is figuring out how to make reusable IDs work in the real world,” said Biometric Update managing editor Chris Burt.
New Zealand
Teenagers as young as 13 can now open a bank account remotely using a verified digital ID, thanks to a new partnership between school software provider MyMahi and digital-only bank Emerge.
The move comes after MyMahi founder Jeff King discovered how many teens were effectively “unbanked” because traditional banks required multiple identity documents and in-person branch visits with parents.
Under the initiative, students can use a MyMahi Digital ID to open an Emerge Basic Access account with no passport, birth certificate or driver’s licence required. With regulators increasingly concerned about the tens of thousands of New Zealanders shut out of the banking system, MyMahi says further partnerships – including with global digital bank Revolut – may follow.
United Kingdom
Government plans for a mandatory digital ID scheme designed to prevent illegal working have drawn criticism from verification experts, who warn it will not stop worker impersonation.
The Association of Digital Verification Professionals (ADVP), which represents major digital ID and verification companies, has raised doubts about whether a digital process will solve the problem of illegal working.
In a letter to Darren Jones, chief secretary to the prime minister, seen by The Times the ADVP said it was “unclear how a mandatory credential would address impersonation. This is the most common fraud risk our members see.”
Impersonation occurs when an illegal worker uses the electronic visa of someone who has lawful immigration status – a problem that continues despite the Home Office’s online share code system.
Under the current process, foreign nationals receive a share code to prove their right to work but employers are not legally required to confirm that the person presenting the code matches the authenticated image displayed through the Home Office system.
Tony Machin, chief executive of identity verification service TrustID, said the system was built on an assumption that employers would consistently conduct face-to-face verification.
“We don’t see that and the Home Office doesn’t see that, and I don’t know how anybody other than [immigration] enforcement would know how many times that check is actually being done by the employer,” he told The Times, via People Management.
United Kingdom
Meanwhile, the government has delayed consulting with the public on the development of digital ID plans until the new year, according to PoliticsHome.
When the policy was announced in September, the government said it would launch the consultation “later this year”.
It is now not expected to be published until the beginning of next year, which government insiders say is due to the handling of the policy recently moving from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) to the Cabinet Office.
However, there is also an acknowledgement within government that it will take time to create a consultation that asks the right questions and provides the public with the best opportunity to help design digital ID, following criticism of how the policy was sold to the public when it was first announced.
Europe
The European Commission has unveiled a new digital package that includes proposals for “European Business Wallets,” positioning digital identity as a central lever for reducing administrative overhead and supporting cross-border trade within the bloc. Presented alongside a Digital Omnibus initiative to streamline EU rules on artificial intelligence (AI), cybersecurity and data, the European Business Wallet is intended to give companies a reusable, trusted digital identity that can be used across Member States.
According to the Commission, the Digital Omnibus will simplify compliance with a wide range of existing digital legislation through targeted technical amendments, while a parallel Data Union Strategy seeks to unlock higher quality data for AI systems. Within this framework, European Business Wallets would allow enterprises to store and present key credentials in a harmonised format, reducing the need to repeatedly provide the same documents when dealing with authorities in different countries. The Commission estimates that simplification measures could save up to 5 billion euros in administrative costs by 2029, with business wallets unlocking up to 150 billion euros in additional annual savings, reports ID Tech Wire
Egypt
Egypt has taken a significant step forward in its push for digitisation, following reports of an upcoming digital ID system designed to enhance financial inclusion metrics.
According to a report, Egypt’s Central Bank has unveiled a website indicating the imminent launch of a mobile app to expedite digital ID verification for customers of financial institutions. Dubbed Haweya, the incoming mobile app will serve as a digital wallet containing residents’ biometric data and user information for financial services use cases, reports CoinGeek.
Haweya will support remote digital Know Your Customer (KYC) services and will enable bank account opening for more than 35 banks in Egypt while supporting access to telecoms services.
United Kingdom
London-headquartered TMT ID, which uses mobile network data to help onboard and authenticate users or perform age verification, has raised £30 million (approximately US$39.5 million).
The funds were invested by BGF, which describes itself as the UK and Ireland’s most active growth capital investor.
TMT ID plans to allocate funds to innovate faster, grow its global reach and expand its portfolio of services, according to the announcement.
The company says demand for its services has increased by 30 percent from last year, and revenues from its suite of digital identity and fraud prevention products, including KYC checks and age verification, is up 80 percent.
Global
Digital identity firm GBG has selected Amazon Web Services (AWS), as its preferred cloud provider.
As part of the agreement, GBG will migrate workloads from multiple providers into AWS, streamlining its infrastructure and consolidating international operations. GBG aims to enhance efficiency, strengthen security and create a dynamic platform for faster product development and smarter solutions. This follows GBG’s launch earlier this year, of its all-in-one identity platform, GBG Go, as the company continues to prioritise innovation.
Ukraine
Mastercard has signed a five-year public-private cooperation agreement with the government of Ukraine, aiming to boost the country’s digital economy by implementing new financial and payment tools and developing digital identity and cybersecurity.
The Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the Digital Country Partnership (DCP) programme was signed last week in Warsaw between the payment operator and the Ukrainian Ministry of Economy, Environment and Agriculture.
The collaboration aims to enhance the efficiency of public services, expand access to financial tools, and open new opportunities for small businesses and for investment in Ukraine’s digital infrastructure, according to Economy Minister Oleksii Sobolev.
Mastercard has previously signed Digital Country Partnerships with the governments and public sector bodies in France, Czechia, Slovakia, Panama and other countries.
