The OpenID Foundation is now offering a Digital Identity Round-Up, similar to that which OIX used to offer its members. If you have suggestions or sources that we need to add to our lists as we develop this round-up, please feel free to contact Elizabeth Garber.

1.  Cyprus has launched a mobile digital ID app known as Digital Citizen
   1. Wallets are key here, with the app enabling citizens to hold digital documents such as biometric ID cards, driver’s licenses, and vehicle roadworthiness certificates on their mobile. They can also be digitally verified using QR codes.
2. Ghana has introduced a biometric border control system at its Kotoka International Airport in Accra
   1. Biometrics are key here, with the eGates system using the biometric national ID card – the Ghana Card – which is read by biometric gates before a biometric match is performed to open a second set of gates.
3. New Mexico has become the ninth US State to introduce mobile driver’s licenses, which can be loaded onto either an Apple or a Google Wallet
   1. Wallets are key here, with the mobile enabling New Mexico residents to carry their driver’s licenses on their mobile and use them at select TSA checkpoints across the country. It enables digital verification through the scanning of a QR code, after which encrypted data is transmitted via Bluetooth.
4. Papua New Guinea has released its National Digital ID policy, which is open for public consultation
   1. According to ICT Minister Timothy Masiu, the policy establishes an official digital ID system known as SevisPass, with the key use case of bank account opening in order to promote financial inclusion.
5. The Swiss Government has outlined plans for the technical implementation of its national digital ID, which will be held in a wallet known as Swiyu
   1. The first stage of implementation is set to be tested in Q1 2025, with source code of individual components available in open source. The second stage solution is planned to include more stringent privacy requirements to prevent tracing eIDs to an individual – with the government allocating USD$1.1 million for research to help develop this.
6. Nigeria has issued a procurement notice for a systems integrator for its new NIMS 2.0 digital ID system, which will be underpinned by the open source MOSIP platform
   1. Biometrics are also part of this notice, which asks the SI to integrate MOSIP with ABIS solutions and biometric enrolment kits. Legacy data from Nigeria’s current identity infrastructure will also need to be migrated.
7. Air Canada is launching a digital identification programme for travellers departing from Vancouver International Airport, with Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Toronto, Victoria, and Edmonton set to follow
   1. Biometrics are key here, with the service using facial recognition to verify travellers at the gate, meaning they do not need to show their physical boarding passes or government-issued IDs
8. Law enforcement agencies in the UK have issued a tender notice for a live facial recognition (LFR) system worth up to £20 million
   1. Biometrics are key here, with the system set to compare live camera feeds against watchlists to locate persons of interest. Despite opposition from civil rights organisations and lawmakers, the UK Government continues to support police use of LFR as a means to combat crime
9. On Friday 29^th November, Brazil’s Pix digital payments system reached a new record of 239.9 million transactions in one day
   1. DPI is key here, with Brazil’s Central Bank noting how this scale demonstrates the role of Pix as a public digital infrastructure
   2. A Central Bank survey also finds that Pix is used by 76.4% of Brazilians, and is the most common form of payment for 46% of respondents
10. Japan has discontinued the issuance of health insurance cards, replacing them with the My Number digital ID
    1. Adoption is key, with Japan using this strategy to try to drive adoption in the country, which so far has been low due to concerns about system glitches and privacy
11. Papua New Guinea has announced plans to follow Australia in legislating age assurance for ‘certain social media platforms’
    1. Safety is the primary driver here, with the government’s Digital Transformation Lead, Steven Matainaho, claiming that the move is to ‘protect children from harmful content’ due to the ‘concerning rise in fraud, illegal goods distribution, human trafficking, disinformation, and cyber harassment’
    2. Adults will also need to use mandatory digital ID (known as SevisPass) for accessing ‘age-restricted content’
12. The four major mobile operators in France – Bouygues Telecom, Free, Orange, and SFR – have joined forces to improve digital identity verification for online businesses.
    1. Interoperability is key here, with the operators introducing two new APIs to unify specifications across mobile networks. These are based on the CAMARA standard, an open-source project developed by the Linux Foundation
13. The UK Home Office is planning to conduct trials of remote and in-person biometric fingerprint collection using smartphones for foreign nationals applying to come to the UK
    1. However, there are concerns about the feasibility of this plan, given that biometric fingerprint data in passports is currently protected by Extended Access Control (EAC) and can only be read by authorities of EU member states.
    2. Meanwhile, there are security concerns that remote fingerprint captures are more susceptible AI-enabled fraud
14. New research from the Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) finds that 60 jurisdictions have implemented legislation or regulations related to open banking
    1. Competition within the financial services industry is the key driver of adoption in 44 of these jurisdictions.
    2. The report also finds regional variation in open banking approaches, with jurisdictions in Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa predominantly embracing a regulation-led approach, while jurisdictions in Sub-Saharan Africa and Asia Pacific usually favouring a market-led approach

New event notifications:

• Biometric Update is running a webinar called ‘Navigating the Emerging APAC Market for Digital ID’ at 3.30pm AEDT/11.30pm EST on the 11^th February 2025
• The State of Open Con 2025 is set to take place on 4^th and 5^th February 2025 in London
• Future Identity Finance is coming up on the 19^th March 2025 in London, UK

About The OpenID Foundation (OIDF)

The OpenID Foundation (OIDF) is a global open standards body committed to helping people assert their identity wherever they choose. Founded in 2007, we are a community of technical experts leading the creation of open identity standards that are secure, interoperable, and privacy preserving. The Foundation’s OpenID Connect standard is now used by billions of people across millions of applications. In the last five years, the Financial Grade API has become the standard of choice for Open Banking and Open Data implementations, allowing people to access and share data across entities. Today, the OpenID Foundation’s standards are the connective tissue to enable people to assert their identity and access their data at scale, the scale of the internet, enabling “networks of networks” to interoperate globally. Individuals, companies, governments and non-profits are encouraged to join or participate. Find out more at openid.net.