OneID to provide IDV for more digital signatures as their availability, scope grows

Digital signatures backed by identity verification with bank data or face biometrics are gaining ground in the UK and the United Arab Emirates, with a pair of new partnerships for OneID and a new feature for the UAE Pass app.

OneID strikes twice

Bank-verified digital ID company OneID has partnered with e-signature company Nitro Software to provide more secure digital signatures for UK customers. OneID has also integrated with Adobe Acrobat Sign to verify the digital identity of signers.

OneID’s software has been integrated with Nitro Sign Premium to protect electronic signatures with robust identity verification for signers. The integration raises the evidentiary value of Nitro digital signatures and decreases their exposure to fraud, according to the announcement. Nitro customers select OneID as their verification method when signing a document to consent to OneID contacting their online or mobile banking provider to verify their data.

The bank-verified data OneID has access to enables real-time identity checks for 50 million UK adults, or 97 percent of the population, the company says.

“Nitro is the only solution that offers both identification in a KYC workflow and eSignatures with OneID, alongside access to a wide array of other digital identity schemes, setting a new standard for high-trust transactions,” says Filip Verreth, VP Product at Nitro.

The companies also claim that the integration will help businesses increase conversions and maintain regulatory compliance.

By joining the Adobe Digital Identity Gateway as a partner, OneID makes the e-signature experience faster, simpler and more secure against fraud, according to a separate announcement.

“We’re excited to be able to harness a bank-verified identity into an e-signature process in the UK for the first time,” John Jolliffe, senior manager for strategic development, Adobe. “OneID’s broad coverage will really simplify the lives of Acrobat Sign customers seeking higher trust forms of e-signature in the UK.”

Also in the UK, Liverpool-based Videosign is calling on the government to update its legal framework for wills to allow them to be digitally signed, reports Liverpool Business News.

A temporary amendment introduced in the UK during Covid to allow “wet” (physical) signatures to be witnessed online is set to expire in January, 2024.

Videosign CEO Steven Tallant has written to the government to argue that, like most other contracts and official documents, wills should not require an ink signature. His personal experience as the executor of a relative’s will was fraught with delays, lost documents and questions about the authenticity of the will. The experience informs his position that paper and ink documents are obsolete in an era when the security and probity of wills can be ensured with digital technology.

Videosign uses face biometrics to verify the identity of document-signers.

UAE Pass integrates e-signatures

Digital signatures have also been added to the UAE’s national digital identity app, Gulf News reports. The feature allows people in the Emirates to sign documents as well as request digital versions of government ID documents like the Emirates ID, driver’s license or right-to-work cards.

The UAE Pass app is available for iOS and Android devices, and uses selfie biometrics for identity verification. The app can also be used to verify the authenticity of documents signed by others, and UAE pass’ verification has the same functionality as Adobe Acrobat Reader, so verified digital signatures in the app are also recognized as valid by Adobe.

Article Topics

digital identity  |  electronic-signature  |  OneID  |  selfie biometrics  |  UAE  |  UAE Pass  |  UK  |  Videosign