The Finance industry generally handles identities and verification in its day to day activities. Whether it’s insurance or simple bank transactions, there is always a step that involves verification. However, there are loopholes in the system from time to time, especially during verification, making the industry prone to identity fraud. In addition to this, there is a pandemic going, which also requires contact tracing in establishments as some countries still enforce strict quarantine protocols for safety and disease prevention as well as having online services to continue servicing customers.

Within the industry, banks do account verification and serve clients on a daily basis, making it prone to both fraud and COVID-19. And that is why the Mobey Forum states that banks need to adopt digital identities for KYC (Know Your Customer). Based on the global, non-profit industry association’s report called “The Mobey Long Take – Post-Covid-19 Digital Identity,” the pandemic brought the spotlight to digital identities; hence, increasing the demand for the service. It even noted the increased usage of digital identities to a number of organizations, such as Norwegian BankID, itsme, Verify, and Verified.Me.

Even the co-chair of the Mobey Forum places emphasis on why banks should adopt digital identities since these organizations “have a long history of credibility and trust, placing them in an advantageous position to become the leading providers of digital identity services, particularly during times of global crisis,” and this is because the pandemic pushed service providers to go digitally.

A lot of countries were put into lockdown during the start of the pandemic; hence, a lot of businesses needed to create a business plan to accommodate their clients and customers. One solution is to shift online so that people can still have access to their services. And with Digital Identities, people can have access to many services, including government benefits, healthcare, and education, without leaving their homes. As for banks, the co-chair added that banks are “uniquely placed to lead the way with a centralized model which would alleviate many common fears around the collection, tracking, and sharing of personal data.”