A universal digital identity for the UK: Myth or soon-to-be reality?
Regardless of how much friction has been removed from the user experience of financial services, ID verification has remained a sticking point in the UK.
In Britain, there is still no universally accepted way for users to prove their identity online. Whilst in the EU, the countdown to a true digital ID has already begun, with a universal Digital ID Wallet which operates across all member states expected to go live in 2024.
Digital solutions exist but they are comparatively expensive and even the best of them fail to deliver on the potential of a truly universal digital ID.
The problem is one of repetition, users onboarded through a digital ID provider to one service still have to repeat the process for new providers.
Open Banking offers a potential solution in which ID verification process and KYC due diligence delivered by banks becomes truly portable and enables a step change in providers’ ability to offer genuinely frictionless onboarding.
Unfortunately, we’ve yet to see the delivery of ID verification services that unlock the potential of Open Banking.
Join me around the Open Banking Excellence (OBE) virtual campfire to understand why this is the case, what is happening as the industry looks for solutions and whether a digital ID in the UK is a genuine proposition or a pipe dream.