UK digital ID providers see gov’t role in enabling cross-border interoperability

The UK government should play a role in enabling cross-border uses of digital identity, according to a survey on their international interoperability carried out by the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA).

OfDIA surveyed companies in the UK’s digital verification service (DVS) sector in May, 2025 to learn more about their potential to operate internationally.

The Office collected responses from 39 DVS providers, 26 of which declared themselves headquartered in the UK. Only fourteen of them (36 percent) are certified against the UK’s Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF). OfDIA also warns that given the small sample size, the survey results should not be considered representative of industry participants in general. Worse, OfDIA presents answers to each question as a percentage of total responses, despite some organizations declining to answer some questions.

The majority of the companies participating provide document verification, biometric and liveness checks or identity orchestration. Half of responding organizations identified themselves as age assurance providers.

They were asked a dozen questions, several of which broke down into multiple components.

Major barriers to working internationally were reported by 79 percent of respondents, from considerations like diverse regulations, disparate systems and technical challenges. The same number say the government has a role to play in removing those barriers.

Thirteen responses said cross-border political or regulatory agreements could help harmonize or align national frameworks, or support their mutual recognition. Twelve want interoperability to be supported through harmonized alignment around and adoption of technical standards, like those from ISO and W3C.

If international interoperability can be achieved, 40 percent of businesses told OfDIA the result would be better operational efficiency and reduced costs. Improved user experience and adoption was identified as a benefit by 37 percent, and market expansion by 30 percent.

The collected responses will inform the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s (DSIT’s) work formulating an international strategy for cross-border uses of digital identity and attributes. OfDIA also plans to repeat the survey, with hopes of wider participation.

Global efforts around cross-border interoperability of digital IDs have largely had a regional focus so far, whether in Asia-Pacific or the EU.

OfDIA has also been engaging with stakeholders as it attempts to ramp up domestic adoption of digital verification services.

Article Topics

biometrics  |  cross-border data sharing  |  Department for Science Innovation and Technology (DSIT)  |  digital ID  |  digital verification service (DVS)  |  interoperability  |  OfDIA  |  UK digital ID