HSBC, Barclays join EU project aimed at testing digital ID standards for cross-border banking

HSBC and Barclays have joined a new EU group comprised of private and public sector organizations testing the use of a citizen’s national digital identity from France to open a bank account in the UK, according to a report by Finextra.

The Project, which is co-financed by the European Union’s Connecting Europe Facility, will also include the UK Government Digital Service (GDS), Orange, OT-Morpho and the Open Identity Exchange (OIX UK).

The organizations will test the use of public sector eIDAS (Electronic Identity and Signature) standards for banking across borders.

Meanwhile, the Project will develop a prototype model that leverages Mobile Connect — a user authentication and identity service based on the OpenID Connect/OAuth2 standards — to enable users to request a digital ID that is validated via eIDAS.

For the pilot tests, Orange will develop the services that will allow a digital identity to be configured for use by a French citizen through Mobile Connect.

Additionally, OT-Morpho will create services and infrastructure for the identity authentication process.

“We already have a world-class international account opening service,” Trista Sun, HSBC global head of international and cross border, said. “However, currently, customers often have to produce a separate set of identification paperwork when they open a bank account in a new country. The use of recognized, trusted digital IDs across borders will revolutionize this process.”

Article Topics

banking  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  EU  |  KYC