The US state of Utah is to launch a pilot programme that will test the use of blockchain technology for the issuance of digital identity cards and other digital credentials that can be stored and used on a holder’s smartphone or other mobile device... More
Digital identity
European Payments Initiative to pilot digital wallet for instant P2P payments in Germany and France
The European Payments Initiative (EPI) is to begin piloting a digital wallet that will enable users to make instant person-to-person (P2P) payments in Germany and France as a first step towards rolling out a unified payment system that will support “a comprehensive range of transaction types” across Europe... More
Sweden to launch digital ID card that can be stored on a user’s smartphone
Bank ID, the Swedish digital identity service provider owned by seven Scandinavian banks, is to roll out a QR code-enabled digital ID card that Swedish citizens will be able to create, store and use on their smartphone. ... More
Yahoo Japan to trial face biometrics for in-store payments
Customers using Yahoo Japan’s convenience store in the Yoyogi Uehara district of Tokyo can now opt to pay for their purchases at a self-service checkout with their face using biometric payment... More
Purdue University lets students store contactless mobile IDs on NFC devices
Students attending Purdue University in West Lafayette in the US state of Indiana can now access campus buildings and authorise on-campus payments using a digital student identity card stored on their Apple or Android NFC smartphone or smartwatch rather than a physical ID card... More
European banks call for rethink on incorporating payments into EU digital identity wallet proposals
The European Credit Sector Associations (ECSAs) are calling on the European Union to re-examine clauses in legislation on the proposed European Digital Identity Wallet that appear to imply that “widely used cards and payment specifications” will have to accept the wallet for strong customer authentication (SCA) for payments “on a mandatory basis”... More
EU begins work on digital visas for Schengen visitors
The European Union is to begin negotiating a proposal to enable travellers who require a visa to transit through — or make a short stay in countries within — the border-free Schengen area of Europe to apply for and store a digital version of the credential on their smartphone... More
Singapore lets taxi and bus drivers store digital vocational licences on their smartphone
Bus, taxi and private hire car drivers as well as school bus attendants in Singapore can now add a digital version of their vocational licence to the country’s Singpass app on their smartphone and use it to verify their identity and licence status, gain access to restricted areas and earn loyalty points when purchasing fuel... More
TSA to extend contactless digital ID verification pilot to airports in Puerto Rico and Tennessee
The US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is to start letting passengers use their digital driving licence or state ID card stored on their smartphone to verify their identity at checkpoints in Luis Muñoz Marin International Airport in Puerto Rico and Nashville International Airport in Tennessee later this year, according to TSA administrator David Pekoske... More
New South Wales introduces digital health cards
Residents of New South Wales in Australia can now add a QR code-enabled digital version of their Medicare national healthcare card to the Australian federal government’s myGov app on their smartphone... More
OECD seeks feedback on digital identity recommendations
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has published a draft recommendation for the implementation and governance of national and cross-border digital identity systems and is inviting comment on the document from government officials, civil society organisations, international bodies and interested citizens and stakeholders... More
Panera Bread installs biometric palm payments devices at US bakery stores
Customers at Panera Bread outlets in St Louis, Missouri, in the USA can now opt to access their loyalty account and make contactless payments for their purchases with their palm... More
Landmark London building rolls out support for employee IDs in Apple Wallet for contactless entry
Apple users working in landmark City of London skyscraper 22 Bishopsgate can now gain access to the building, their workplace and shared amenities with a tap of their iPhone or Apple Watch using a digital employee badge stored in Wallet... More
Japanese consortium to build ‘metaverse economic zone’ where avatars can authorise digital payments
A consortium of Japan-based financial services and technology providers is to develop a ‘metaverse economic zone’ where consumers will be able to create a digital twin or ‘auto learning avatar’, access digital experiences and authorise payments to merchants and service providers with a digital authentication credential or ‘multi magic passport’ (MMP)... More
UK reveals proposals for national digital identity verification framework
The UK government has laid out proposals for establishing a framework for the use of trusted and secure digital verification services that will allow consumers to create certified digital identities for use across a range of use cases... More
Utah lets drivers create a mobile driving licence on their smartphone with a selfie
Drivers in the US state of Utah can now opt to create and store a digital version of their driving licence on their Apple or Android smartphone by scanning their physical document and verifying their identity with a selfie using biometric facial recognition technology... More
Nine in ten businesses to increase spending on digital identity verification
Nine in ten businesses across the finance, technology, telecoms and aviation sectors worldwide (91%) plan to increase their spending on identity verification (IDV) technology in the next one to three years, with one in three intending to increase their IDV budget by 20% over that period, an international business survey has found... More
Aegean Airlines speeds up boarding with government digital ID
Passengers travelling on domestic flights operated by Aegean Airlines and its subsidiary Olympic Air in Greece can now verify their identity when boarding using government-issued digital ID credentials stored on their Apple or Android smartphone rather than a physical ID card or passport... More
More than 4bn digital identity apps to be in use by 2027
The number of active digital identity apps in use globally will exceed 4.1bn by 2027, up by nearly 2bn from a total of 2.3bn in 2023, according to a forecast by Juniper Research... More
Air Canada leverages NFC for contactless biometric boarding at Vancouver International Airport
Passengers travelling on select Air Canada flights between Vancouver and Winnipeg international airports can now opt to create a biometric digital ID on their NFC smartphone that they can then use to verify their identity with their face when travelling through the airports... More