Papua New Guinea rolls out platform for seamless management of digital IDs

Papua New Guinea’s Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT) says it is expanding its digital infrastructure with a new component dubbed Digital ID Block that will allow for a unified management of digital identities and secure exchange of data.

According to information from the DICT, the digital ID orchestration platform will serve as a centralized, secure and efficient system for managing digital identities with services such as identity verification, authentication, authorization, and data management. The platform will utilize the National Identification database, according to the government announcement.

The DICT secretary Steven Matainaho said the ID Block is part of efforts to increase the government technology stack by providing a framework within which secure and streamlined identity verification and authentication processes can take place in a convenient manner, in line with provisions of the Digital Government Act 2022.

Speaking about the usefulness of the novelty, Matainaho said: “The implementation of a Digital ID Block aims to streamline access to digital services, enhance data security, reduce fraud, and improve the overall user experience. It also fosters interoperability, enabling seamless integration with various government and private sector services.”

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister James Marape said late last year that the country was looking forward to introducing biometrics in its electoral process.

The Bank of Papua New Guinea also says it has plans of trialing a bank ID system that will further the government’s financial inclusion push.

Article Topics

digital ID infrastructure  |  digital identity  |  identity management  |  national ID  |  Papua New Guinea