Mobey Forum expert group to focus study on digital identity for pandemic management and recovery

The role of digital identity in helping life to continue through online channels will receive more focus from the Mobey Forum going forward, according to a blog post.

With more people than ever before relying on technology to carry out professional responsibilities and access critical services, Mobey Forum’s Digital ID expert group is shifting its focus to exclusively consider the impact of COVID-19 and physical distancing measures, and how digital identity systems can help now and in the future.

The group has published a report on prominent digital ID schemes in Europe and North America, identifying a number of benefits societies can achieve by adopting digital ID. Those benefits have now increased manifold, Mobey Forum Executive Director Elina Mattila writes.

The report largely centered on the competition between banks and tech giants to lead digital identity initiatives.

“The battle for leadership is entering a new phase. With millions of people staying at home, governments are under pressure to ensure that their citizens still have access to key services such as banking, healthcare and education,” according to Mattila. “It is technologically possible to allow access to many of these services remotely, and examples are being set by countries such as Norway and Estonia which have been able to offer a wide range of digital services during this period.”

Challenges and opportunities created by the pandemic include confirming the identity of teachers to support online education, and the potential for digital identity to allow prioritization of health care workers for grocery deliveries.

The Mobey Forum will release a report on the role of digital ID in pandemic management and recovery in the coming months. The organization also recently released a podcast on the findings of its digital ID scheme study.

Article Topics

access management  |  banking  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  education  |  healthcare  |  identity verification  |  Mobey Forum