Will e-ID become Mobile ID?

Last updated: 09 June 2016

 

eGovernment mobile ID or eID

We’ve recently discussed the rise of e-ID and how it is impacting various aspects of daily life. But, there’s another phenomenon that’s starting to take hold, and that’s Mobile ID.

Mobile ID or mGov is a digital identity. It allows someone to use a mobile phone for securely accessing e-services and digitally signing documents. As smartphone technology becomes more widespread, having the Mobile-ID option will become increasingly convenient. This will allow citizens to paying their taxes online, as well as requesting a birth certificate and even voting in elections. There is also the upside, that people can use these services 24/7 without having to making time in their days.

Digital identity solutions such as Mobile ID and e-ID are key strategic moves for governments driving digital transformation, and helping them construct advanced national identity schemes. Indeed, the number of government-to-citizen digital transactions is said to grow 30% by 2020 (BCG 2015). The BCG findings are based on a model calculating the total number of current citizen transactions, as well as changes in online access.

The main benefits of this transition are:

  1. Improving convenience and meeting citizen expectation
  • Introducing the possibility of 24/7 service availability independent of location
  • Increasing satisfaction with public and private service offerings – and offering transparency of process
  • Saving time traveling and waiting in government offices for citizens – average time saving of 30 minutes per transaction, meaning a global annual time saving of 29 billion hours
  1. Financial saving and reducing fraud
  • e-Government would yield up to $50 billion annual savings globally by 2020, according to BCG’s worldwide research
  • Initiatives like the British Gov.uk Verify are forecast to reduce the cost of providing identity services (currently £3.3 billion annually in the UK), by up to 90%
  • 51% of all data breaches resulted from identity fraud in 2014 (Gemalto Data Breach Level Index report). Mobile ID helps address the problem, as it’s a robust authentication solution which allows secure access to online services

Early adopters of Mobile ID have included countries where market penetration of mobile phones and new technology is particularly advanced, such as Austria, Estonia, Finland, Norway and Turkey. Some of these countries have moved to Mobile ID (including m-government services, building upon existing e-ID platforms). In 2014, Oman was the first country in the Middle East to complement its national electronic ID card with a mobile ID scheme.

Gemalto recently launched the Mobile Connect trial taking place between Spain  and Finland, where customers of participating operators can log-in to the e-Government online service. The aim is to create an international e-ID service based on real identities and a new breed of trusted services for a global market.

So it looks like Mobile ID will become more widespread due to the convenience and security it offers. To enjoy widespread success, Mobile ID services will be dependent on collaboration between public authorities, banks, telecom operators and the private sector. The first key factor is the role of government in creating a trusted framework and the second is to provide user protection when utilizing online services.

Have you used Mobile ID or e-ID? Let us know what you think and use the @Gemalto handle to respond! In the meantime, for more information on Mobile ID, its applications and its benefits, visit our dedicated webpage.

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