Most should go mobile: digital ID systems examined by Secure Identity Alliance for best practices

Mobile platforms offer a way to provide positive user experiences with enhanced security, including biometrics, according to a new report from the Secure Identity Alliance.

The finding is one of the successes observed among national digital ID systems around the world in meeting different challenges and addressing particular needs. These best practices can be replicated elsewhere, for the general improvement of digital identity everywhere, the report suggests.

The 92-page ‘Giving Voice to Digital Identities Worldwide’ report was written by the SIA’s Digital ID Working Group and digital transformation consultancy onepoint, with the intention of taking a different approach which gives voice to government ambitions and challenges for digital and mobile ID, as Working Group Chair Kristel Teyras, also of Thales, said during a webinar presenting the report and its findings.

It includes in-depth interviews with 25 government representatives, as well as regional bodies, and seeks to highlight specificities and share best practices, in line with the SIA’s overall mandate. The report focusses on end-user perspectives and key use cases, onepoint’s Yannick Regonneau said during the webinar.

The webinar, moderated by Festival of Identity Chairman Mark Lockie, also featured a panel of representatives from Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Italy and Portugal, and had nearly 600 registrants from around the world.

Key insights from the report are broken into the categories of end user value propositions, ecosystem and governance, technology implementation and go to market and promotion, and associate each insight with countries that can provide examples of the given principle in action. They include involving end-users throughout the development and implementation of digital ID, setting up an intergovernmental and multidisciplinary task force to lead the efforts, and prioritizing mobile interactions.

During the webinar, the government representatives reported a range of approaches to the role of the private sector, linking services, and again, an emphasis on mobile technologies.

Austria is planning to relaunch its digital ID system this year as ID Austria, with an increased emphasis on integration with mobile devices.

Denmark’s NemID has reached almost as many downloads as there are people in the country, and it was used by up to 5 million people for 71 million monthly transactions with 99 percent user satisfaction in 2020, according to Charlotte Jacoby of the country’s Agency for Digitization. It will be replaced by MitID in 2021 through a public-private partnership with the financial sector.

The creation of strong value propositions, different models of ecosystems and governance, and go-to-market and promotional mechanisms were discussed at some length.

Jacoby noted that including groups representing people with disabilities in the development process helped to drive inclusivity as a goal, and support it as a value proposition for its digital ID system.

The report is available for download from the SIA.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital identity  |  government services  |  identity document  |  MitID  |  mobile device  |  Secure Identity Alliance  |  smartphones