Everybody is talking about digital Identity, but many are struggling to explain what it really is. For me it’s all about enabling each of us to make digital transactions, being able to prove who you are in the digital world and take part in the digital economy. Fundamentally it’s about being digitally included.
As the world’s economy goes digital, our digital self becomes more and more important. In the United Kingdom this significant development has just recently been underlined with the government’s introduction of the ‘Digital by Default’ programme across 25 government departments. If I want to pay my taxes, access my bank account or interact with public institutions, the other party needs to be sure that I am who I say I am. Thus, having a reliable and easy way to digitally prove my identity is a basic requirement.
Mobile phones are a key to this: They are an integral part of our everyday life, calls, texts and internet on the move. Therefore mobile has a central role in enabling users to establish their identity in the digital world.
Digital identity is supported by UK government and mobile operators
In the UK the marketplace for personal digital identity is clearly gathering momentum. In this age of austerity, the UK Government is switching to digital to achieve greater efficiency; central to this change is the government identity assurance programme. The UK government is working with five Identity providers and the Open Identity Exchange to pilot digital identity assurance. This also involves mobile: The network operators EE, O2, 3 and Vodafone, with the support of GSMA, are committed to working together alongside the UK Government Identity providers to develop this pilot.
In time we predict the need for a central exchange across all industry sectors (Retail, utilities, banks, healthcare and others). AssureUK has been established to meet this need, and has drafted a Trust Framework which will act as the operating model. Early milestones for AssureUK in 2014 include the development of pilots to seed the marketing and dimension its potential. The first pilot involves ticketing and age verification.
Serving the consumer
UK’s consumers are ready to adopt easy and convenient ways to transact online, and they would like to control when and with whom their personal data is shared. Additionally they recognise the need for security and a route to put things right when things go wrong.
Earlier in 2013, GSMA partnered with market research company GfK to investigate UK consumers’ attitude towards digital identity. The results surprised, showing that people in the UK are ready to adopt easier ways of proving who they are online. This view is also supported by industry experts, who see the market ready for a full sector approach towards Digital Identity.
We have begun the next digital era, and secure reliable and easy identification and authentication are the central pillars for many digital transactions. Moreover I am confident that mobile will be the medium of choice for easy and efficient transactions in our growing digitally connected economy.