Major UK banks and financial institutions, including Barclays, HSBC and Lloyds, are teaming up with industry group UK Finance to launch a new digital verification service for the financial sector.
The project has completed proof-of-concept work and is scheduled for a live pilot in a controlled real-world environment in the coming months, according to UK Finance. Other financial companies participating in the new digital verification service are Nationwide Building Society, NatWest Group and Santander.
The new identification service focuses on private sector commercial and retail use cases. Users would be able to use the digital verification service for online purchases, property transactions, or opening accounts, verifying age and identity through online platforms, says UK Finance.
“The financial services sector is ideally placed to deliver a secure and trusted digital verification service,” says Jana Mackintosh, managing director of Payments and Innovation at UK Finance.
The technical side of the service is being developed by Select ID, a digital identity verification marketplace launched in 2024 by the Investing and Saving Alliance (TISA) with support from Barclays, Visa and Northern Trust. The scheme allows customers to select a preferred digital ID provider to carry out their KYC and AML verification.
Last year, Select ID announced a Reusable Digital ID Network partnership with companies such as SQR, Luciditi and Australia-based ShareRing. The company is being advised by Norwegian BankID, a bank-led identification system scheme used by 97 percent of the Norwegian population.
According to the plan laid out by Finance UK, customers would be able to verify personal details, such as name, age, or address, through their banking app and share them securely with third parties. At the same time, they would retain full control over what information is shared and when.
“Using already verified information, shared only with the customer’s explicit consent, could help make digital transactions safer, quicker and more convenient as well as ensuring customers have full control over how their data is used,” adds Mackintosh.
The scheme is aligned with the UK digital verification services trust framework. The bank-led initiative, however, is separate from the UK government’s digital ID project, which faces an uncertain future amid political changes, including the departure of Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
Earlier this month, the Labor government established an independent advisory panel tasked with engaging with the financial services sectors, trade organizations and digital ID providers.
Article Topics
BankID (Norway) | identity verification | reusable digital ID | Select ID | UK age verification | UK digital ID
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