Digital ID issuance sets up growth in biometric liveness and IDV

Face biometrics and liveness detection are catching a tailwind as maturing technologies and the growth of digital identities, particularly in America, sets up further growth in identity verification. On one side of the market, mDL suppliers like Idemia stand to benefit. On the other, IDV providers like IDNow, acquired by a U.S. firm in one of the year’s biggest biometrics deals so far, could also find more demand. Age assurance and seamless travel growth only serve to further boost the liveness detection market. ID cards are also upgrading in Cameroon and Sri Lanka, with technology from Augentic and Thales, respectively.

Top biometrics news of the week

A bill introduced in Texas’ legislature would mandate the launch of mobile driver’s licenses in the state, while Arkansas’ mDL, built by Idemia, is now available and New York is up to 200,000 MiDs issued. Americans’ new digital IDs go beyond NFC chip scans with cryptographic signatures, real-time device trust checks and biometrics, Daon explains in a new eBook.

Illinois, Montano, North Carolina, Georgia, Idaho, Utah and Ohio are all at various stages between proposed laws for and early active issuance of mDLs as well. Federal support for mDL adoption also appears to have survived the change in administration.

The U.S. Defense Health Agency’s cancelation of a biometric wearable health monitoring contract with worth $96 million to Oura is a tough blow, but the contract had been challenged by competitor Whoop and the tender had already been re-run once. Reasons were not provided, but the DoD is cutting costs.

The next biometrics rally held by DHS S&T will be the Remote Identity Validation Rally, running throughout 2025 to build on RIVTD. RIVR will explore IDV with selfie biometrics and liveness detection to allow people to use credentials like mDLs to government services or bank accounts.

A GAO audit of DHS acquisitions shows the department’s biometric programs have been plagued by budget cuts, revenue shortfalls and changing priorities over the years. Frequent changes in leadership and oversight have only contributed to the problem.

A GSA official reassured agencies and the public that Login.gov will continue on its current path, which includes integrating face biometrics and mobile driver’s licenses. The statement came in the wake of a government digital consultancy working on the transition, and public statements from an official questioning the program’s worth.

The international face liveness detection market is booming towards $250 million revenue within three years, according to a new forecast from new strategic partners Biometric Update and Goode Intelligence. The 2025 Face Liveness Market Report and Buyers’ Guide explores the key concepts, standards and vendors to know when selecting a PAD system.

New York-based investment firm Corsair Capital has gone from a minority stake in Germany-based IDNow to a controlling interest in a $295 million all-cash deal. The acquisition is one of the biggest in biometric ID verification this year, and positions IDNow to strengthen its capabilities, the company’s EC says.

Cameroon began issuing its new national ID cards this week, shortly after the opening of the biometrics capture phase. The cards, produced by Augentic, are issued within 48 hours of successful application, though there are only 2 issuance centers for Yaoundé’s millions of people.

Sri Lanka has chosen Thales to produce its Electronic National Identity Card and taken possession of the first 700,000 of the 2.3 million needed IDs. The e-NIC card will be integrated with the country’s digital identity and include face, fingerprint and iris biometrics.

Amazon is expanding its One palm biometric scanner to healthcare with their deployment to six hospitals and 320 outpatient facilities operated by NYU Langone. Patients will be able to use biometrics for faster check-ins, with the added benefit of reduced administration for front-office staff.

The UK’s plan to create a National Data Library could lead to more than $16 billion in savings, an analysis from the Tony Blair Institute says. Aligning data could be a challenge, and policies that serve one department, for example, related to gender, might create problems for another, according to some.

Decentralized digital identity continues to gain traction, inspiring the creation of the Web of Trust Map. Almost 60 percent of countries are developing some form of decentralized ID, just counting those with specific government support, Key State Capital Partner Thibault Serlet tells Biometric Update in an interview.

MOSIP Connect 2025 is on next week in Manila, Philippines, gathering biometrics providers, government officials and other MOSIP ecosystem partners from around the world. The conference, co-hosted by PhilSys, includes innovation demonstrations and a day-long unconference. Watch for coverage by Biometric Update from on-location.

Last Friday, Humane turned off support for its Ai Pin. Wired reports hackers stuck with the non-functioning biometric wearables figured out how to jury-rig a hardwired connection and restore some functionality – at least in principle – almost immediately. Now an IP showdown with acquiring company HP may loom.

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Article Topics

biometrics  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  face biometrics  |  identity verification  |  week in review