ATB Ventures’ Oliu digital identity verification platform has obtained certification from the Digital ID and Authentication Council of Canada (DIACC), marking a potentially significant milestone as Canada moves toward embracing digital ID.
ATB Ventures is the innovation arm of ATB Financial, a bank based in Alberta. The Digital ID & Authentication Council of Canada, meanwhile, is an organization whose mission is to set standards and certify digital identity and authentication solutions to ensure security, privacy, and interoperability within the Canadian digital economy.
In 2020, the DIACC officially launched the Pan-Canadian Trust Framework (PCTF), which is meant to comprise the DIACC’s standards and guidelines. ATB Ventures has been looking to the PCTF as it has developed its own digital ID solutions; in early 2022, the firm announced that it was working with the Government of Canada to develop a proof of concept for a “National Digital Trust Service”, with ATB Ventures Head of Technology Nav Dhunay explaining at the time that Oliu and Proof – another of ATB Ventures identity solutions – would “leverage leading digital identity frameworks, inclusive of the Pan-Canadian Trust Framework (PCTF)”.
Those efforts are evidently starting to bear fruit. In a statement, ATB Ventures said that Oliu had been “subject to DIACC’s third-party conformity assessment for the PCTF Privacy Component,” in an evaluation process that included an independent audit by DIACC Accredited Auditor KUMA as well as another independent committee, which was not named. ATB Ventures came out of the process with a three-year “Trustmark” issued by the DIACC.
“The certification underscores our dedication to providing secure and reliable digital identity verification solutions that meet the highest standards of quality and integrity,” said ATB Ventures’ Head of Venture & Product, Azim Esmail. “It also reflects our commitment to enhancing trust and confidence in the Canadian digital economy.”
DIACC President Joni Brennan also commended ATB Ventures for its achievement with respect to Oliu, saying its certification “demonstrates its commitment to providing trustworthy and reliable digital identity verification services and advancing secure and interoperable digital trust and identity services in Canada.”
As for Oliu itself, ATB Ventures has not disclosed many details about how the digital ID platform works. A graphic on the Oliu website envisions a digital ID platform that would encompass a wide range of types of identity-related information and documents, including SIN, passport, and age as well as medical records, usernames, and professional title.
The site explains that Oliu is a “blockchain-identity management solution” built on open W3C standards, and that it “leverages identity frameworks such as the Pan-Canadian Trust Framework (PCTF) and National Trust and Identity Fundamentals to make mobility and interoperability between identity systems possible.”
–
March 15, 2024 – by Alex Perala
Follow Us