You’ve probably heard of the term mobile wallets and digital IDs floating around the property industry as of late, and if you haven’t; what rock have you been living under?
If you have heard of wallets before, you’ve probably heard of the Apple wallet that acts as a payment method holding debit cards details, or maybe a Google wallet that stores your credentials such as passwords or card details. Or, if you’re financially tech savvy, you may have even heard of Crypto wallets, that hold your cryptocurrency in a secure environment.
Historically, a wallet is what you carry your money in, or things of significant importance such as your ID. The original idea is still there, but now we are moving away from physical cards, as wallets, like everything else, are going digital.
Recent updates to laws and regulations such as the Data (Use and Access) Bill are making way for digital wallets to enhance further, gearing towards new technology that will make digital ID a reality. The Government has recently announced the digital driving licence that will be coming into fruition in 2025, followed by the digital veteran card which can be used to prove someone’s identity. For the public sector, these IDs will sit and be accessible through a government wallet (Gov.UK wallet). The private sector will also be able to access them, but only through certified Identity Service Providers (IDSPs).
Digital wallets and how they work
Wallets come in different shapes and sizes and are used for different things, but they are basically a software-based system that securely stores sensitive information, sends the information where it needs to go securely, and leaves a digital audit trail; essentially allowing tasks and transactions to be carried out digitally.
When it comes to processing transactions on something like Google Pay or Apple Pay, they share your information securely (often via NFC, QR code, encrypted payment codes or tokenisation) and will always ask for verification before doing so, making them more secure than doing it manually. Payment wallets in particular, can be used to carry out transactions without the merchant even seeing your real card number or payment information, which helps massively in the fight against fraud.
Digital ID including digital driving licence
Digital ID such as the digital driving licence will be included in the Gov.UK wallet for public use, but it will also be utilised in other wallets within the private sector through integration.
Digital ID will mean a digital representation of personal information that allows you to verify your identity, such as your name, age address or biometric data. This digital ID will allow you to prove you are who you say you are without having to manually present physical documents. It will be the most trusted credentials you can use, thanks to encryption and biometric protection. It will also help with remote ID verification as it will allow you to match your ID to a real time selfie from where-ever you are.
Digital identity isn’t only for logging into government services, it will also be launched in the private sector for multiple uses, such as finance and banking, property, healthcare, employment and HR, education, compliance, travel and transport, plus much more.
The Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework has already earmarked banking, property, employment, gambling and healthcare among the early priority sectors that will benefit from digital ID, but the adoption is expected to be far wider as technology progresses.
Benefits of wallets and digital identities
Wallets and digital ID will bring many benefits to both the public and private sectors, particularly in transforming public services and advancing the UK into a new digital era.
Convenience – Wallets will take away the need to manually prove identity face to face with a physical driver’s licence or passport and offer an online service with remote data. We will soon be able to prove who we are from anywhere in the world through the click of a button.
Security – Wallets are generally seen as safer than carrying physical documents. They are encrypted and use tokenisation, which means a one-time code instead of full credit card information for example. They are biometrically protected, meaning they will either need facial recognition or a fingerprint to allow anyone to access your data. They also allow a remote wipe, meaning if you feel your wallet is ever at risk, you can wipe the info on it remotely.
Speed – There is no denying that with the ability to prove who we are remotely, the turnaround for things such as opening a bank account should be a lot faster using digital ID. Systems such as Credas already make this easier for onboarding clients within sectors such as Property, but with digital ID becoming integrated into a wallet it will be even faster and more secure.
Access – Digital wallets can improve access to financial services for underserved communities or minorities. It will eliminate travel and the cost of manually updating physical documents.
Credas Compliance Wallet
Exciting enrichments to other areas of technology off the back of this are also coming to light, such as IDSPs creating their own version of wallets for other sectors. All the talk of digital wallets, particularly the Gov.UK wallet has got us all excited for the future, we have known for a very long time that digital ID is needed, and fast. We have always built and created for the ease of use for our clients, our core goal is and always will be to make onboarding and digital id verification simple and easy to carry out; and that’s why we are launching the Credas Compliance Wallet for the Property sector.
Its everything you’ve read about above about a digital ID wallet – easy, secure, fast, but it’s also a full compliance wallet including AML checks, PEPs and Sanctions Screenings, Ongoing monitoring, plus more. We are launching the first of its kind, a compliance wallet that is re-sharable at the push of a button and can be used again and again throughout all stages of the home buying process to verify your identity.
When buying a home for example, you will normally need to verify your identity 5.4 times in a transaction, but we’ve cut it down to 1. Checks can be instantly refreshed upgraded or simply instantly accessed. It will mean lower costs for businesses, better customer experiences, and faster turnaround time with a streamlined, convenient approach.
The wallet will provide the highest veracity compliance checking available from any UK provider, as the compliance content will be built up on an individual over time via the wallet activity log. This will be unique in the market.
