UK, Hong Kong plan digital IDs for businesses

The UK Minister of AI and Digital Government Feryal Clark says exploring a digital company ID could strengthen the country’s financial sector.

The government has been exploring a digital company identification scheme named Digital Company ID as a business version of the GOV.UK Wallet, a digital wallet that allows British residents to verify their identity. The platform would help confirm a company is real through verifiable data points and credentials in order to prevent fraud.

“Financial crime has a huge impact not only on individual businesses but on our wider economy,” says Clark. “That’s why it’s so crucial that organizations up and down the country continue to innovate –harnessing technology to make their financial protections stronger than ever,” says Clark.

The business verification initiative comes amid changing regulations for businesses operating in the UK. Starting in Autumn 2025, anyone setting up, running, owning, or controlling a company in the UK, namely directors and persons with significant control (PSCs), will be required to verify their identity. Company directors and PSCs can already voluntarily verify their identity through Gov.uk One Login or an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP).

The Digital Company ID would also slash red tape and boost productivity, the Minister noted during an industry summit organized last Tuesday by the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) and software company Sage.

The partly government-funded group has been advocating for the adoption of Digital Company ID as a tool to fight economic crime and boost the smart data economy. 

CFIT has been developing a prototype of the Digital Company ID app with the help of 70 organizations. In February, it also published a white paper analyzing the UK’s legislative and regulatory readiness for the identification tool.

During the event, CFIT also discussed introducing data sharing through collaboration with the industry and the government., introducing standards for interoperability and launching pilots to test the Digital Company ID.

“Financial services is a priority sector for the adoption of digital identities,” says Chi Onwurah, chair of the House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee.

Hong Kong launching CorpID in 2026

The former British colony of Hong Kong is forging its own path towards digital company identification. The city plans to roll out the Digital Corporate Identity Platform or CorpID by the end of 2026, Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong announced last Wednesday.

The platform would provide corporate identity authentication, allowing firms to pre-fill forms and store digital licenses and permits. CorpID would also help companies access government services and conduct business transactions.

Minister Sun also revealed that Hong Kong’s smartphone biometrics-based digital identity platform iAM Smart has reached over 3.3 million registered users since its launch in 2020, the Standard reports. 

The government is also expecting to make all of its services accessible through the platform by the end of next year. Among them is an electronic driving license (eDL): The government is currently amending the Road Traffic Bill to allow the city’s 2.5 million drivers to obtain mDLs through the iAM Smart app and the Transport Department’s e-Licensing Portal.

Last year, the Financial Services Development Council (FSDC), a government-funded advisory body, said that digital ID is “crucial” for Hong Kong’s strategy to become a leading international financial center.

Article Topics

Centre for Finance Innovation and Technology (CFIT)  |  CorpID  |  Digital Company ID  |  digital government  |  digital ID  |  fraud prevention  |  Hong Kong  |  identity verification  |  KYB  |  UK