United Kingdom
Prime Minister Keir Starmer is appointing a new minister to oversee the rollout of digital IDs as the government seeks to rebuild public confidence in the programme.
Labour MP Josh Simons, currently serving as acting Cabinet Office minister, will be promoted to minister for digital reform. He will be responsible for advancing the government’s digital ID plans, with a focus on reforming public services such as welfare payments, childcare entitlements and local government services.
Separately, the government has asked departments to identify spending reductions that could be redirected to fund the digital ID programme. In December, departments were instructed to submit proposals outlining potential savings, as part of efforts to finance the initiative amid ongoing political sensitivity.
Global
Grace Rachmany has been appointed executive director of the Decentralized Identity Foundation, succeeding Kim Hamilton Duffy, who stepped down at the end of 2025.
Rachmany is known for her work in decentralized governance, blockchain-based economic models and digital democracy. She is the founder of DAO Leadership and a co-founder of Sideways, an organization focused on shared infrastructure for planetary governance.
In her welcome address, Rachmany described digital identity as both a “hot topic” and a “hot mess,” citing recent developments in multiple countries. She said her priorities include expanding global participation in the foundation’s work and strengthening engagement with Web3 and network state communities, with plans to spend the first quarter of 2026 in Southeast Asia.
Global
Accenture and NTT DOCOMO GLOBAL have launched Universal Wallet Infrastructure (UWI), a shared infrastructure layer designed to support digital identity and broader digital trust use cases across organisations.
The partners position UWI as a way to reduce fragmentation in emerging wallet ecosystems by providing common rails for credential issuance, storage, presentation and verification. The approach is interoperability-focused and does not involve creating a single wallet or centralized identity database.
The rollout is being staged, with early adopters participating under letters of intent. Initial efforts are focused on validating core functionality and operational models before expanding features and market reach.
United States
Ping Identity has strengthened its identity platform following the completion of its acquisition of Keyless, adding zero-knowledge biometric authentication to its portfolio.
The technology enables fast, device-independent biometric re-verification without storing biometric data in a retrievable or reconstructable form. Re-verification can be completed in under 300 milliseconds, supporting multi-factor authentication while helping organisations counter deepfakes, impersonation and account takeover.
Ping says the addition elevates trust standards across the digital ecosystem while maintaining a privacy-first approach.
United States
Clover, the commerce platform from Fiserv, has announced a collaboration with Wink to integrate biometric identity and payments into the Clover ecosystem.
The solution combines face and palm-based payments with identity, payment and loyalty features to enable faster, more personalized checkout experiences. Transactions are secured using AI-powered biometrics and a secure token vault that separates biometric profiles from payment credentials.
The integration will initially target quick-service restaurants, sports venues and retailers, with broader rollout planned through 2026.
Netherlands
Dutch public-sector organisations have demonstrated a proof-of-birth credential flow that allows citizens to retrieve a municipal birth certificate and store it in a digital identity wallet compliant with the European Digital Identity Wallet framework.
The demonstration showed how municipal source data can be accessed and issued into a wallet using once-only data exchange infrastructure and a qualified trust service provider. The setup allows citizens to reuse verified evidence without repeatedly submitting the same documents to different authorities.
The example highlights how local government data sources can be integrated into emerging European digital identity architectures.
Global
Amadeus has joined an international initiative to support the adoption of digital identity, biometrics and data standards in air travel.
Under a memorandum of understanding (MOU), the travel technology company will support efforts to promote biometric interoperability across countries, aligned with global standards for traveller identification and machine-readable travel documents.
The initiative aims to help countries advance digital transformation in aviation by adopting common specifications and interoperable systems.
Bahamas
The Bahamas is preparing to begin issuing new biometric voter cards, with rollout expected to start by mid next month.
Authorities say preparations are at an advanced stage, with the card supplier expected to finalize implementation shortly. The new biometric card will be introduced under updated election legislation.
The government says the initiative is intended to modernize voter registration by replacing an outdated and error-prone system.
Poland
Polish KYC startup Identt has launched a biometric identity verification app that uses NFC to read data directly from identity documents.
The app is designed to eliminate the need for organisations to build their own mobile apps or integrate SDKs. Identity verification is initiated via a link or QR code and can be used for onboarding, KYC and AML checks, account registration and other use cases.
Identt’s solutions are used across sectors including banking, government, e-commerce and betting, with deployments in multiple European markets and South Africa.
United States
ID.me has secured several new contracts with US government departments, including a $1 billion blanket purchase agreement with the Department of the Treasury.
The agreement is expected to run for approximately five years and will see ID.me providing identity verification and authentication services across multiple Treasury functions. The contract reflects a broader federal push to strengthen online security and prevent fraud.
While ID.me has faced scrutiny over facial recognition practices, the company continues to play a central role in securing access to federal services, including taxpayer systems.
Zambia
Zambia has confirmed that citizens will begin receiving national digital ID cards by the end of the year.
Officials say the rollout is a key milestone under the Digital Zambia Acceleration Project and builds on progress already made in digitizing public sector services.
The digital ID is expected to support broader government transformation efforts and improve access to online services.
United States
A US Department of Homeland Security agent has told a federal court that REAL ID-compliant driver’s licences are not reliable proof of U.S. citizenship during immigration enforcement operations.
The statement has become central to a civil rights lawsuit brought by a US citizen who alleges unlawful detention despite presenting a REAL ID. The case raises questions about the purpose and guarantees of the REAL ID programme, which requires states to verify identity and lawful status before issuing compliant credentials.
The lawsuit seeks to clarify the limits of immigration enforcement against US citizens and the evidentiary role of federally certified identity documents.
United Kingdom
Select ID has achieved certification under the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF) as an Orchestration Service Provider, alongside ISO/IEC 27001 certification for information security management.
The certifications underscore Select ID’s focus on secure, trusted and interoperable digital identity infrastructure for regulated organisations, particularly in financial services. DIATF certification confirms compliance with UK Government requirements, enabling organisations to connect to and manage multiple reusable digital identity service providers through a single, integrated contract, while supporting evolving regulatory demands and strengthening protection of customer data.
