Auckland-based Sphere Identity, which has developed a blockchain-based platform for identity management, has launched a system that it says will allow businesses to sign up customers in a secure, compliant and global way, and give users simple control of their data. The company claims 22 percent of customers abandon sign-up procedures because of to the burdensome process of filling in online forms. It promises to combat the drop-off by “providing consumers with a consolidated digital identity that can be easily accessed and applied as required.”
The business says companies can easily integrate its technology into their customer on-boarding and interaction systems to create a system that is more efficient than online forms and that will streamline their customer experience in a way that is adaptable to the regulatory and compliance landscape. The system comprises a software platform for the business and a mobile application for consumers that, according to the company, “provides individuals with easy access to personal documentation, such as passports and driver’s licenses, saving them the hassle of re-entering the same information numerous times, while also giving them complete control of their personal data.” Sphere Identity says the platform “is built with the principles of privacy and security by design, making use of distributed storage technology, ensuring that customer data is decentralised and fully encrypted, reducing the chances of hackers stealing data from one central source.”
According to Sphere Identity, customers are realising that their online identities are multiple, exposed and easily exploited, and are increasingly frustrated at having to enter the same information over and over again, with little warning as to how that information will be used by third parties. “By adopting digital identity procedures in e-commerce transactions, businesses can introduce trust and automation, which has spurred a distinct market for self-sovereign identity solutions,” it says. Computerworld has reported a flurry of activity around digital identity in New Zealand in recent months. In late November Spark announced it had become a founding steward of the Sovrin Network, a non-profit organisation that aims to give every person, organisation, and thing the ability to own and control their own permanent digital identity using distributed ledger technology.
This was followed by NZTech setting up Digital Identity NZ, a group of organisations and government agencies, to “connect everyone in New Zealand that cares about digital identity.” (Sphere Identity is a member). The Government announced a two year $5.15 digital identity programme to be led by the Department of Internal Affairs to look at how government could set up the right rules and environment, and take advantage of new technologies, to meet the evolving needs and expectations of citizens.