CDD Services seeks funding to pilot local digital ID with UK communities

A new initiative to provide digital ID to people in the UK vulnerable to digital exclusion has been proposed by CDD Services. The SafeGuarden service includes a local digital ID and loyalty card, backed by a network of community data cooperatives and delivered through a super-app.

The company is seeking funding in the form of corporate social responsibility investments, loans and grants to go along with anticipated government support. Investors will collect their gains through a buy-back from the data cooperative within five years.

The plan is to create and pilot SafeGuarden as part of a system that includes identity vouching, outreach and inclusive digital hubs delivering a locally branded digital ID, according to an investment note seen by Biometric Update. The IDs would be backed by centralized shared services including a governance toolkit, shared standards and a common operating model.

This will enable local councils and VCSEs (“voluntary, community and social enterprises”) to encourage adoption of the digital ID by marginalized groups through community outreach programs, CDD Services says. Deployments will be structured as franchises.

SafeGuarden can be used for digital age verification and identity verification, but also connects to local businesses and resources.

Revenue is collected through membership fees, transaction commissions, ethical advertising and sponsorships.

The UK government just launched a new unit, GDS Local, to enable access to regional government services through GOV.UK.

Leigh, Wigan, and Wirral are the first regions that have agreed to adopt SafeGuarden, after which the plan is to expand to Greater Manchester and Merseyside. The SafeGuarden platform is used in Leigh by pilot project Digital Belonging, which is supported by Wigan Council and the Wigan Borough Community Fund.

SafeGuarden’s Counterpart Due Diligence services underpinning the app’s integrity are provided by CDD Services subsidiary Spotlite Business Services Ltd, and another subsidiary, SafeGuarden Ltd, provides the shared services and network operating model. The Spotlite Compliance Platform is certified as a Digital Verification Service (DVS) under the UK Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework (DIATF).

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