The internet services provider VEON is moving forward with the official launch of its new MobileID solution. The company trialed the solution with its Beeline mobile operator (and other mobile operators) in Russia before deciding to move forward with a full-scale rollout.
VEON’s network covers nine countries and includes more than 212 million customers, of which 1.2 million signed up for MobileID during the nine-month trial. AliExpress, Alfa-Bank, and Sheremetievo Airport were some of the 36 online retailers and service providers that participated in that initial phase.
The actual MobileID solution is built to the GSMA’s Mobile Connect standard, and is designed to give users the ability to verify their identities quickly and easily during online and in-person interactions. In that regard, a VEON MobileID is essentially a digital credential that links the user’s personal information to their SIM card. Users can choose to share that information with third parties through the platform’s Permission Centre module, which in turn enables passwordless authentication, autofill, and other utilities in digital and physical channels.
Users can manage and revoke sharing privileges through the Permission Centre. Online retailers that have been given access to someone’s MobileID will be able to view credit rating information and location data that mitigates the threat of fraud. Meanwhile, the streamlined registration process is expected to translate to higher customer conversion rates. However, step-up PIN authentication (or other security measures) may still be required for select high-risk transactions.
The MobileIDs are compatible with virtually any device that runs on a SIM card. The data for the scheme is stored in secured telecommunications data centres and encrypted with an RSA Asymmetric algorithm, all of which are compliant with local data privacy regulations. According to VEON, users’ personal information does not cross international borders.
Businesses can integrate VEON’s MobileIDs into their own applications through the use of the company’s software tools and APIs. VEON also indicated that building to the GSMA Mobile Connect standard will ensure interoperability with other national and international programs.
“It is the right time for the mobile telecommunications industry to implement a new industry standard for digital identity validation,” said VEON Group CEO Kaan Terzioğlu. “For both consumers and retailers, MobileID could replace the authentication services currently offered by social networks that are often susceptible to fraud and lack the checks on the true identity of the digital persona.”
VEON’s MobileID rollout will begin in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. The news reflects the growing interest in digital IDs in the past few months, with Apple making a particularly big splash with the announcement of its own mobile ID project back in June. The tech giant has since delayed the launch of the program until 2022.
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