City of London seeks digital ID orchestrator as reusable identity push accelerates

The City of London is calling on tech companies to build a reusable digital identity verification service for the financial sector to reduce fraud.

The Digital Verification Orchestrator (DVO) Initiative would connect identity providers to financial services that require identity checks. Consumers would verify their identity once with a trusted provider, while financial companies could reuse the digital ID to confirm it using secure data transmission through the orchestrator.

The verification orchestrator would also flag suspected fraud on the network to other firms, restricting fraudsters’ entry points into the financial system. The service would be voluntary for users.

The city office predicts that the service could save up to £5 billion (US$6.7 billion) by preventing fraud and reducing costs. The goal is to ensure “faster, safer, and more seamless” access to financial services, according to Chris Hayward, City of London Corporation’s policy chairman.

“We’re asking companies that can provide this infrastructure to step forward and lead the sector’s fightback against fraud,” says Hayward.

The City of London Corporation laid out its plans for a Digital Verification Orchestrator (DVO) in a report last year, which argued that a widely accepted digital verification service for financial services has become essential.

​The analysis proposes a hybrid digital verification model that combines federated and decentralized approaches. The model consists of the “orchestrator,” an independent entity that helps users exchange secure information, Relying Parties (RPs) and Identity Data Providers (IDPs), which are to adhere to the trust framework defined by the Office for Digital Identities and Attributes (OfDIA).

“Key aspects of the model include the ability for users to select from a variety of certified and trusted IDPs, enhancing flexibility in identity verification,” says the report. Relying Parties, on the other hand, would gain access to high-quality datasets.

The analysis argues for a self-sustaining commercial structure: Fees collected from Relying Parties would fund the orchestrator and compensate Identity Data Providers.

The push extends beyond consumer identity.

In March, the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) announced that the foundations for a Digital Company ID are in place, and the focus will now shift to implementation. The phase involves a market‑led orchestration model coordinated by the City of London Corporation under CFIT’s oversight.

That dynamic is driving interest in reusable identity models across financial services.

Digital ID verification success rates have risen over the past three years, meaning that the need for manual verification has dropped significantly, according to new data from Credas.

According to an analysis by the UK-based ID checking service, digital verification pass rates have increased from 86.1 percent to 89.3 percent between 2023 and 2026. At the same time, the number of cases that need manual review has dropped from 9.1 percent to approximately 3-4 percent a year.

The drop is significant, as manual reviews create delays, according to Rhian Del-Valle, director of Enterprise Partnerships at Credas.

“It shows you can reduce friction without compromising on fraud detection – which is essential when identity fraud remains such a persistent threat,” she notes.

​Credas provides selfie biometrics and ID matching for identity proofing. Around 99 percent of all documents submitted for verification are passports and driver’s licenses, underscoring the importance of standardized government-issued identification in digital onboarding.

Despite these results, the company warns that identity fraud continues to pose a risk. Fraud database Cifas recorded 242,000 cases of identity fraud in 2025, representing more than half of all fraud cases.

Article Topics

Credas  |  digital identity  |  identity orchestration  |  Identity Service Providers (IDSP)  |  identity verification  |  London  |  reusable digital ID  |  UK digital ID