Opinion-in-brief: The UK has a digital identity crisis, and banks can solve it
Last year, digital identity hit the headlines with the UK introducing Covid-19 passports which raised concerns about data privacy.
People already give up their data every day to websites and social media platforms. It is estimated everyone has 200 digital identities.
People should be able to safely prove their identity online, while having complete control of their data and preventing access by unauthorised third parties.
The best way to achieve this is through a trusted digital identity. The UK is far behind Sweden, Norway, Denmark and other countries that have introduced utilities provided by trusted platforms linked to their local banks.
This is a golden opportunity for UK banks, which have already verified the identities of 98 per cent of the population and built the Open Banking infrastructure to share this data securely.
It will enhance their role as trust custodians, enable them to help businesses and consumers tackle fraud and build new revenue streams.