Leading financial body launches UK digital ID pilot
18 July, 2018
category: Digital ID, Financial, Government
TISA, the UK savings and investments membership organization, launched the pilot phase of its project to develop a UK digital ID system for citizens to use in financial dealings. The pilot phase builds on the prior consumer research and emulation phases of the project.
The goal is to create a trust framework, with a clear set of standards and levels of assurance, to share with the financial community and others that will be influential in pushing UK digital ID forward
TISA believes digital identity will make it easier for people to save and invest money by removing the technological and process barriers that discourage financial account opening and utilization.
“It’s clear that people would save and invest more if the process of opening savings and investment products and transferring money was made easier,” says David Dalton-Brown, TISA Director General. “Too many customers are left frustrated when they are unable to complete financial processes online. That’s why the Digital Identity is vital to helping people manage their money better.”
The UK digital ID will give consumers more control over their finances, by enabling easy transfer of funds between accounts. It will also make it easier for them to communicate with providers in a secure and privacy-protecting manner.
Rollout of the UK digital ID pilot
During the six-month pilot, TISA and a group of leading financial service providers will develop several prototype approaches to consumer digital identity. The goal is to create a trust framework – with a clear set of standards and levels of assurance – to share with the financial community and others that will be influential in pushing UK digital ID forward.
All pilot identity approaches will rely on open standards, which will make it easy for the UK financial services industry to adopt the new technology.
The project is led by TISA’s Digital Identity for UK Financial Services Working Group. A steering group of representatives from the pilot participants will oversee the delivery of the project. Working groups will focus on specific areas including proposition, user needs/journey, testing and evaluation; Trust Framework; standards development; technical/infrastructure; stakeholders and planning.
“We see the Digital ID providing a vital foundational component in the digitization of UK Financial services,” says Dalton-Brown. “This will benefit consumers, product providers, fintech firms and deliver considerable economic benefits to the UK.”
