Oops! UK government says sorry for the mix-up with wallet announcement

UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology Peter Kyle has reportedly apologized to the biometrics and digital identity industry for the “unintended impact” of the government’s wallet and digital driving licence (DDL) announcement.

The apology comes with a walkback on use cases, and an apparent requirement that government-issued digital ID will have to be hosted by a digital identity verification service certified under the Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF).

In an email sent to Biometric Update, Age Verification Providers Association (AVPA) Executive Director Iain Corby, who attended a much-anticipated meeting between digital ID trade groups and government representatives, says Kyle remains “unapologetic that government would issue credentials such as a DDL, which he argues (reasonably) the public expects.”

“He did say government has no interest in how the private sector consumes and integrates with those credentials.”

Corby says it appears that users will have to access a government credential via a digital verification service. “So a DDL becomes a source document for a trust framework digital ID, not used directly at the till at Sainsbury’s, for example.”

Corby calls it “a considerable concession” that seems to veer away from the original Gov.uk digital ID vision, which promised that UK imbibers would be able to use their government-issued mobile driver’s licenses directly to buy alcohol at licensed establishments by Christmas 2025.

He also notes “a lot of talk of orchestration providers’ role in the trust framework.”

The Association of Digital Verification Professionals (ADVP) has been working with AVPA on this file. In a social media post, ADVP chair David Crack notes that, seven months out from the festive season, retailers and local authorities remain poorly prepared and unmotivated: “there is no commercial model or clear regulatory drivers to encourage retailers to adopt the technology.”

This is a developing story… 

Article Topics

ADVP  |  AVPA  |  Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT)  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  digital wallets  |  Gov.UK  |  GOV.UK Wallet  |  UK