Majority of UK SMEs in favour of Digital Company ID service for efficiency

Research commissioned by the Center for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) has found that more than 80 percent of Small and Medium-sized Enterprises in the UK won’t mind paying to have a Digital Company ID.

Per the research by the financial innovation organization, mostly large SMEs say having such an ID would “drive efficiencies, reduce fraud risk and improve access to credit,” CFIT said in a release.

A Digital Company ID refers to a trusted digital identity credential for businesses, something like a digital passport that verifies a company’s legitimacy and key members of staff.

Findings of the research, conducted in collaboration with market research agency Opinium, got the views of about a thousand top executives in companies with less than 250 workers.

Their willingness to pay for Digital Company ID, CFIT says, is driven by the desire of these SMEs to use technologies that can streamline their business, especially in the area of fraud prevention, regulatory compliance, faster onboarding and account setup, secure payments and reduced scams, as well as tax and licensing procedures.

“With the SME Digital Adoption Taskforce having recently set out its recommendations for driving up tech adoption by SMEs, our research shows that we will be pushing at an open door, if we can offer businesses a Digital Company ID product that improves efficiency, security and trust,” Head of Impact Assessment and Engagement at CFIT, Rob Haslingden, said.

“What’s more, demand should only increase further, as consumers become more comfortable with individual Digital ID, following the recent passage of the Data (Use & Access) Act and the roll-out of the GOV.UK Wallet. This will improve the accuracy of business verification by proving the identity of individual directors and employees,” he added.

CFIT says the results of the research also reflect the growing potential of the digital ID market in the UK which already has the presence of more than 250 firms generating an estimated £2 billion (US$2.7 billion) in annual revenue, and growing at 12 percent year-on-year.

CFIT says its initiative is supported by a coalition of partners who are already exploring options for a Digital Company ID prototype and framework in the UK, which some believe will be critical in fighting fraud which is costing the country’s economy about £6.8 billion (US$9.1 billion) each year.

The UK has in the past years been advancing its efforts for a more formally structured future digital ID ecosystem with bipartisan support to make it mandatory.

While Labour politicians are advising that the government follows Estonia’s example, others like those of Liberty are raising trust issues with the government handling of such digital ID.

Article Topics

Centre for Finance Innovation and Technology (CFIT)  |  digital company ID  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  fraud prevention