Inside Australia’s Push For A Safe And Trusted Digital ID

The use of digital identities is becoming commonplace, and consumers are largely satisfied with their presence. In fact, PYMNTS’ Digital Identity Lifestyle Capsule found that 100 percent of eCommerce customers who were required to submit digital copies of their physical ID documents when creating accounts said it was a satisfactory authentication process.

Digital IDs are growing more popular among world governments as well. Australia, Malaysia, Thailand and the United Kingdom are just a handful of nations that are exploring the benefits, ranging from opt-in programs designed to help citizens access financial and governmental services to compulsory ID solutions meant to serve as virtual ID cards.

To help provide these digital IDs, developers are exploring a range of options including blockchain. The prevailing trends indicate that digital IDs will be an improvement over older means of authentication and verification, regardless of the forms they take.

In the September Digital Identity Tracker, PYMNTS explores the latest developments in the world of digital IDs, including Australia’s implementation of myGovID, a new eCommerce payment option from Mastercard, and the benefits of using digital IDs in digital banking and the gig economy.

Developments From Around the World of Digital ID

The U.K. Post Office recently utilized the British government’s G-Cloud 11 marketplace to introduce a suite of digital services, including digital proof of identity, in-branch verification and document certification for passports, driver’s licenses and utility bills. The Post Office is currently trialing several other ways to expand its identity services, and is also working with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA), the Cabinet Office and Her Majesty’s Passport Office to do so.

Other countries are exploring more comprehensive approaches to digital ID. Malaysia’s government recently approved the National Digital Identity initiative, which will eventually provide every Malaysian citizen with a digital ID. Though the country currently utilizes the MyKad identity card, the National Digital Identity project will supplement access to payments and access online services. The first stage of the project is a nine-month study that will begin this month.

Private entities are getting in on digital ID as well. Credit card giant Mastercard recently launched Identity Check Express in India, an eCommerce payment option, allowing shoppers to seamlessly verify their digital IDs. Instead of using one-time passwords (OTPs), which studies suggest are responsible for the abandonment of up to 20 percent of mobile transactions, the platform uses over 200 unique data elements for seamless ID verification.

For more on these and other digital identity headlines, download this month’s Tracker.

Inside Australia’s Push For Safe And Trusted Digital IDs

Australia’s shift to offering government services online has been largely successful, resulting in greater access for citizens and much more efficient outreach for the government. Citizens who lack the means to prove their identities online often struggle with digital ID offerings. However, a new government-provided digital ID option called myGovID aims to solve that problem.

For this month’s Feature Story, PYMNTS spoke with Jonathon Thorpe, head of digital identity for Australia’s Digital Transformation Agency (DTA), about how the system works and how the Australian government plans to keep the platform secure and transparent.

Deep Dive: How Digital ID Can Help Digital Banking And The Gig Economy

Digital ID is still largely underutilized in today’s economy, with 71.2 percent of financial services customers relying solely on password authentication, PINs and email address verification. Digital identification offerings could address the shortcomings of these authentication methods by improving seamlessness and providing stronger security. This month’s Deep Dive explores how digital IDs could help the financial services industry and the gig economy, and how developers are working to implement digital IDs in these sectors.

About the Tracker

The Digital ID Tracker, done in collaboration with Jumio, is your go-to monthly resource for updates on trends and changes in the digital identity industry.