Bahamas prepares for national digital ID, considers universal credential

The Bahamas Ministry of Economic Affairs and the National e-Identification System (NIS) Committee held a two-day workshop to kickstart engagement of public and private sectors for developing an implementation strategy for the National Digital Identification System, reports ZNS Bahamas.

Wayde Watson who is both a parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Chairman of the NIS Committee is quoted as saying the workshop marked the beginning of “the process of developing a strategy, roadmap and action plan for the implementation and adoption of a national digital identification system in The Bahamas.”

Government departments are already preparing with the MyGateway portal according to Watson, gearing up for paperless transactions. International consultants such as from the World Bank’s Digital Identification for Development explained the processes and risks. The reporting suggests legal frameworks are being developed.

Also reporting on the workshop, the Nassau Guardian quotes a statement from the Digital Transformation Unit understanding the proceedings that the ministry and NIS committee agreed that the digital ID should be “the one source of truth as proof of identity for transactions with public and private entities.”

On legal preparations, the Nassau Guardian quotes National Coordinator for Information Technology, Patrick Davis, who said legal teams are developing the legal framework for the national digital identity system “that will provide safety, reliability and the accurate authentication of identity information.”

The Digital Transformation Unit concluded: “Ultimately, they were all in agreement on a national digital ID being the one source of truth as proof of identity for transactions with public and private entities, allowing users to prove that they are who they say they are.”

PopID is bringing PopPay face biometric verification platform to the country’s central bank digital currency (CBDC). Bahamians can now pay by face when they link their digital SunCash accounts to PopPay.

The U.S. TSA also recently went international with its face biometrics when it launched PreCheck at Nassau airport earlier this year.

Article Topics

Bahamas  |  biometrics  |  digital identity  |  government services  |  Identification for Development (ID4D)  |  identity verification  |  national ID  |  secure transactions