Groundwork laid for mass digital identity take up as use cases grow

The addition of Covid-19 status certificates to biometrically-accessed digital wallets and the continued replacement of card-based ID with digital ID for uses such as campus ID form a positive backdrop as development work on verifiable digital credentials continues apace, this week by digital identity provider Identos.

Identos is adding W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) verifiable credentials as a product feature for its digital ID solutions by the end of the year, announcing its position in the race to incorporate international standards for how digital credentials – from health records to degree certificates – are stored and verified.

The aim is for individuals to be able to hold their digital credentials in a digital wallet and control how they used. W3C verifiable credentials will allow entities such as healthcare providers, schools and government agencies to work to the same standards. Healthcare is proving a strong use case especially in countries with fragmented provision such as the US where a patient may need to visit multiple different providers.

Identos is preparing for this and is already operating in the sector, recently in Canada.

Verifiable credentials are being used in finance, Covid-19 health passes and matched with biometrics in digital wallets by self-sovereign identity coordinator Sovrin.

Use cases for one-case digital identities continue to grow and become established for people around the world. Australia’s Covid-19 digital certificate app now works with Apple Wallets on iPhones reports 9to5Mac. England’s NHS Covid app was recently updated to allow the same integration.

Apple’s digital wallet is allowing further cases for third party digital ID providers to allow users to access a digital credential more quickly. The tech giant is also working on ways in which its devices could provide biometric unlocking for other devices.

The company’s Apple Pay division is expanding its digital ID feature to more US and now Canadian universities to operate as campus ID, reports TechTimes, while recent patent details reveal under-display cameras for both FaceID and TouchID on iPhones which would make biometric access to digital wallets even smoother.

Article Topics

Apple  |  biometrics  |  credentials  |  digital identity  |  digital wallet  |  identity document  |  identity verification  |  IDENTOS  |  mobile app  |  standards  |  W3C