Digital ID

The vision is to create a single Digital ID that meets all relevant regulatory requirements (KYC and AML) and is positioned to consumers, as the prime means for securely identifying themselves to UK Financial Services. 

Digital ID will allow consumers to re-use their verified identity and associated KYC attributes to open and access online financial services.

Working closely with key stakeholders and industry, TISA is developing a unique Digital ID scheme for financial service firms that will deliver value to firms, the consumer and UK plc. The project is open to TISA members to participate and will drive cost savings and/or opportunities to build new exciting financial products.

This new scheme and governance body will meet all FCA, KYC, and AML standards, together with the requirements of UK government to access their data. It is the gateway to opening up the full digitisation of UK financial services. TISA is creating a Scheme that allows Financial Services Providers to use Digital IDs of KYC purposes from a range of certified ID Providers.

Latest News

We developed and tested user journeys including using a digital identity to open a new account, which reached an 84% success rate, so improving the onboarding rates for financial services and reducing AML costs.

The Proof-of-Concept phase completed

TISA has now completed the Proof-of-Concept phase of its Digital Identity programme. This included building and implementing a test platform with live connections between financial services (including Fidelity, MoneyHub and Profile Pension) and identity providers (including the Post Office, Yoti, Digidentity and OBid).

Get involved in our next phase

Our next phase is the “Live Pilot” where we will connect identity providers to live onboarding processes using a Live Hub and a single API.

TISA wishes to run the live test with financial services of all sizes. Please contact us here to have a demo of the service, hear about the research results and discuss the next steps.   

Project Status

Where are we at now?

Proof of Concept Phase now Completed

TISA has now completed the Proof-of-Concept phase of its Digital Identity programme. This included building and implementing a test platform with live connections between financial services (including Fidelity, MoneyHub and Profile Pension) and identity providers (including the Post Office, Yoti, Digidentity and OBid).

The components of the Proof-of-Concept components

The aim of this phase was to validate key assumptions:

  • Will the consumer use a Digital ID service?
  • Will the financial services use a Digital ID service as part of their onboarding processes?

Consumer Testing

Our Consumer testing was focused on answering the following questions:

  • Will they use this service?
  • How will it be promoted to users and incentivise them to drive growth? What are the key features and functionality required? This includes cross-sector.
  • How can we optimise the ID registration user journey and weave these into existing journeys?
  • Testing existing Verify customers to see if they would use the service
  • Testing if customers with a Digital Identity from elsewhere will use the service
  • Testing new customers to see if they would use the service

Highlights from the Testing Phase:

We developed and tested user journeys including using a digital identity to open a new account, which reached an 84% success rate, so improving the onboarding rates for financial services and reducing AML costs.

Latest consumer research findings included:
✔️Consumers were open to setting up and using a Digital ID in the future on the basis of convenience and in line with the move to digital across services.
✔️80% of those tested want to use their Digital ID to access their products following set up 
✔️users found applying for a product with a Digital ID straightforward and it flowed logically

“I enjoyed the convenience compared to signing up for multiple websites and having to confirm my identity separately.”

Polling Results – benefits to firms

TISA also undertook a survey at our last an Open Event on Digital ID, where firms indicated the top benefits of Digital ID for them, which ranked as:

  1. Efficient ID verification – including quicker and more costs effective onboarding, less manual processing
  2. More robust verification process – reduced ID Fraud risk through Strong ID Proofing and “Robust Fraud Controls”
  3. More effective KYC process – leading to better consumer experiences

Innovate UK Smart Grant 

Innovate UK (an executive non-departmental public body sponsored by the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy) awarded TISA with a grant to support the research phase of the Digital Identity project.

The grant supported our Proof Of Concept Phase, which tested the use and reuse of secure Digital Identities between the Relying Parties (financial services) and Identity Providers through the development of a Hub and the connectors between participating firms, as well as customer acceptance testing.

This centres on testing tested three use cases:

  • opening a bank account with an overdraft
  • applying for an ISA
  • and opening a pension.

It is an excellent endorsement of the project and demonstrates the Government’s support for this initiative.

What’s next?

Live Pilot

Our next phase is the “Live Pilot” where we will connect identity providers to live onboarding processes using a Live Hub and a single API. Key stages include:

Industry: Recruiting financial service firms to connect their live onboarding process to Identity Providers using the IDP selector and related infrastructure.

Technology: Proving data delivery from different IdPs using different data formats and protocols in a single format — “single API”.

Consumer: Assess consumers usage of re-usable Digital Identity across sectors and the benefits (e.g. reduced fraud, improved accessed) in a Live environment.

Testing: the Live Hub and connectors by financial services of all sizes that will feed into the efficient design of the live service.

Regulation: the intention is for the Live Pilot to be included in the FCA’s Regulatory Sandbox (part of Innovate); this is being discussed.

TISA wishes to run the live test with financial services of all sizes. Please contact us here to have a demo of the service, hear about the research results and discuss the next steps.

Background to Digital ID

Background and approach

Problem statement

Consumer: I want to access FS products faster, simpler and more securely

Financial Services Provider: I want to offer easier online access to my products so that I can increase my sales, conversion rates and reduce my costs

ID Provider: I want to become a recognised IdP to improve efficiency, customer relationships and to create a new revenue source

THE SOLUTION: How might we enable easy access to all digital services by creating a single, reusable, secure ID owned and controlled by the consumer?

The vision is to create a single Digital ID that meets all relevant regulatory requirements (KYC and AML) and is positioned to consumers, as the prime means for securely identifying themselves to UK Financial Services. 

This Digital ID will allow consumers to re-use their verified identity and associated KYC attributes to open and access online financial services.

Financial services will be able to save considerable expense in verifying customers’ identities, reduce overall AML compliance costs and increase fraud protections.

Future state


Approach

Project Steering Committee consists of the participating firms and has overall governance, including making key strategic decisions, budget control and communications.

Working Groups work on defining and delivering each workstream through a mixture of workshops, research and commissioning any third parties. Chaired by a participating member

An overview of the Digital ID project

• This is single Digital ID, controlled by the user, can be re-used with many different organisations

• This TISA industry project is developing a Digital ID scheme and governance body that meets all FCA, KYC, and AML standards together with the requirements of UK government to access their data. This is the gateway to opening up the full digitisation of UK financial services. TISA is creating a Scheme that allows Financial Services Providers to use Digital IDs of KYC purposes from a range of certified ID Providers.

• The project is now in the testing phase (Proof of Concept) in which the Project Team is building and testing of the proof of concept and technical architecture for the project. This includes user testing to ensure the digital identity will meet the needs of the consumer. We are developing the test environment (Proof of Concept) that will connect financial service providers to identity providers as well as consumer research work.

• Innovate UK has just awarded TISA with a Smart Grant to support the Digital Identity Testing Phase. The award of the grant is a fantastic endorsement of the project and will help accelerate the development of the required infrastructure; this will be key enabler for delivering an Open Finance marketplace.  

• The TISA team continues to work closely with colleagues in the Government Digital Service and DCMS to align the development of the Government and Financial Services Digital ID schemes and the development of the infrastructure.  

• The ID standards also support EU requirements and as such will facilitate cross border EU trading. 

• The project is backed by UK Financial Services and Identity Providers who are collaborating together to work on this project with TISA.

• Use of Digital ID has been added as an acceptable method of KYC by in the AMLD5 UK regulation, with the detail of its use to be defined by the JMLSG, creating a Financial Services Digital ID Standard.

Why should you get involved?

Benefits of participating in the project

• Participate in the Live Pilot and be one of the first to market to issue or consume reusable Digital Identities

• Ability to influence and shape the key Digital ID programme for UK financial services that will deliver huge growth potential in the Digital Identity market.

• Help form the future body that governs the scheme, standards and identity requirements for Digital Identity across multiple sectors including collectively working with GDS in building interoperable standards between the two schemes and unlocking Government data.

• Working closely with other financial service providers to build shared infrastructure

• Involvement includes having a seat and voting rights on the Governance Steering Committee (which has strategic oversight and budgetary control of the programme) and active participation in the workshops (including the pilot development, infrastructure and others).

• Help shape the standards and identity requirements for Digital Identity across multiple sectors including collectively working with GDS in building interoperable standards between the two schemes and unlocking Government data.

• Jointly dealing with the regulator to demonstrate industry perspective

Benefits to business

• Please see below a range of benefits delivered by the Digital ID.

• Higher conversion rates/ sales

• Cost savings in account opening & product transfers

• New digital product and service development to deliver value added services:  aggregation, dashboards, tailored products

• Potential new revenue streams

• Lower risk and mitigate fines

• Better fraud notification capability

• Improved customer service, fewer customer complaints

Get involved

Participating firms

Governance Steering Committee


Aviva UK Insurance
Barclays Wealth
Deloitte LLP
Experian
Fidelity International
HSBC
JPMorgan Asset Management
LexisNexis Risk Solutions
Lloyds Banking Group
NatWest PLC
Northern Trust
Origo Services Ltd
Santander UK Plc
SS&C
The Investment Association
UK Finance
VISA
Yoti Ltd

Fintechs


Amiqus
Callsign
Charteris Consulting
Daon
DigIdentity
Digital Identity Net
HooYu
Mitek Systems
Onespan
Onfido
Signicat

How to get involved

These are the current opportunities to get involved with the Digital ID project.

  1. Join the project as a full participant 
  2. Join the subcommittee for suppliers 
  3. Get connected with the Live Pilot
  4. Receive mail updates
  5. Attend open industry events

To find out more about TISA’s Digital ID project and how to get involved, please use the form below.

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Latest News

TISA announces rapid expansion of pioneering Digital ID scheme for financial services

TISA calls upon the industry to accelerate Open Finance so more consumers have better access to digital services

TISA wins £340,000 grant from Innovate UK to advance Digital ID technologies giving everyone easy access to financial services