Verimi touts digital vehicle registration, but a big name partner may be backing away

Berlin-based digital ID wallet provider Verimi is touting its fully digital vehicle registration system, which issues a provisional digital registration certificate that enables driving while physical stickers and seals are processed. But a major stakeholder is making noise about divesting, according to a brief report in the Financial Times.

In a release posted to its blog, Verimi says it provides simple online identification and digital signing for internet-based vehicle registration for major customers of Germany’s Federal Motor Transport Authority (Kraftfahrt-Bundesamt, or KBA). Registration documents are digitally signed with a qualified electronic signature (QES) at Verimi. To sign digitally, citizens must first identify themselves, either online on the internet or on site with a service partner.

Point-of-service partners can choose from a range of identification methods that Verimi offers. These include Wallet-Ident, which uses verified digital identity stored in a Verimi ID Wallet, as well as selfie biometrics-to-document verification, online bank account authentication, plus PIN and video call options.

Verimi says that, since launching in September 2023, digital ID auto registration has meant wider, simpler access and reduced fees for users. In particular, says the release, the wide selection of procedures relevant to everyday life for verifying identity in conjunction with the qualified electronic signature (QES) opens up access to online registration to all citizens. Until now, digital registration was limited to the portals of the more than 400 decentralized registration offices and authorities, where the online ID card function (eID) or Elster (German tax ID) certificates are required for access.

The launch, plus a recent win for Verimi’s ID wallet in the healthcare sector, would seem to portend good things for the firm founded by a group of German and European companies in 2018 in a bid to create a German super-company to contend with Silicon Valley. However, the Financial Times suggests that Verimi is at risk of losing a major partner in Deutsche Bank. The financial giant was among partners who developed and launched Verimi, a list that also includes Allianz, Axel Springer, Daimler, and Deutsche Bank-owned Postbank.

In a shakeup that will also see Deutsche Bank close as many as 250 Postbank branches to address concerns about poor customer experience, technical security issues and lacking digital options, Claudio de Sanctis, who recently took the helm of Deutsche’s private banking division, is reportedly also looking to ditch the bank’s stake in Verimi.

After the single sign-on platform failed to meet initial expectations, Deutsche Bank doubled down on Verimi in 2021 when it combined with three other stakeholders (namely Allianz, VW Financial Services and Samsung) to pump another 8-figure sum into the initiative.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  Deutsche Telekom  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  digital wallets  |  electronic-signature  |  identity verification  |  investment  |  Verimi