Lloyds Banking Group is set to release a new digital identity app in partnership with tech vendor Yoti. It will allow users to prove their right to work, verify their age and other functionality available in the existing Yoti ID app. Lloyds took a £10m stake in the digital ID company earlier this year and says the new app’s functionality will expand over time.
Named Lloyds Bank Smart ID, the app was developed to be a reusable digital identity app to combat the risk of identity fraud. Built using the £10m investment in Yoti, it will allow people to share specific information with businesses who request it – such as name, date of birth or proof of age – without having to show physical identity documents.
Yoti already has a partnership with the Post Office for delivery identification that is also a branded version of its own Yoti App. The company also has an agreement with the Home Office that means users can verify their right to work using the app rather than having to show a passport or visa data. This is built on international privacy standards.
The existing Yoti apps can be used to pick up parcels at the Post Office, and act as proof of age at cinemas and some retail outlets also accept it for age verification. It can also be used by companies carrying out criminal record checks.
A report by digital identity and onboarding platform Liminal, published last year, suggested the market for reusable ID services could be worth $266bn by 2027. This will come in part for consumer uses but also for onboarding customers and employees within a company. Such technology is growing fast because the internet has no underlying identity layer, the report says.
Lloyds invests in digital technologies
Lloyds Banking Group has been investing in digital transformation technologies, including taking a stake in Yoti and a €3m investment in digital documentation company Enigio. Its branding deal with Yoti for the new app puts them in a good place in the emerging digital identity sector and a spokesperson said the plan was to investigate further use cases and integrations in future.
James Fulker, chief digital officer at Lloyds Banking Group, said: “Lloyds Bank Smart ID means UK consumers now have further access to secure, digital ways of proving their identity and it marks a significant milestone following our investment in Yoti.” He said his team “looks forward to our continued work developing this proposition with Yoti”.
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It will be accessible to any UK resident wishing to verify their ID without having to hand over personal information or show documentation to multiple third parties. There is no need to be a Lloyds Bank customer and the app will be available for iPhone and Android.
Robin Tombs, CEO at Yoti, said the app will make it safer for people in the UK to prove who they are. “Digital IDs transform the way we share our personal data, allowing us to only share the information a business needs, rather than showing a full identity document.”
Tombs added: “I’m delighted to have the UK’s largest bank accelerate the network of reusable Digital ID apps so even more people have the opportunity to take control of their digital identities.”
