Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and National Australia Bank (NAB) have rolled out ConnectID, a digital identity solution to safeguard Australians against fraud and identity theft.
Australian Payments Plus (AP+) developed ConnectID to enable people to securely verify their identity to third parties without repeatedly sharing unnecessary data about themselves.
Instead of providing proof of identity documents, consumers can now ask a participating business to verify their information using organisations they already trust with their data, like their bank.
ConnectID is now available to Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and National Australia Bank (NAB) customers in several use cases. It has strong industry support with other strategic partners, including Westpac and ANZ.
ConnectID doesn’t see or store personal information but acts as a bridge between an organisation that wants to verify someone’s identity and the organisation providing that verification. This only happens when the customer authorises it.
ConnectID combines the convenience of real-time identity verification with enhanced security and consent. With ConnectID, businesses can offer their customers a simple and secure verification process without over-collecting and storing customers’ personal information.
Companies spanning various industries will provide ConnectID as a secure method for verifying the identity of their clientele. These include Referoo, Credenxia, ServiceSeeking, OnePassport, RentBetter, Shaype and more.
Andrew Black, Managing Director of ConnectID, says: “This new service will help customers reduce oversharing their data, giving them greater control over what data is being shared and used and choice over which organisations they trust to store their personal information.”
“And from a business perspective, the ability to collect only what is required means they can comply with legislation and reduce their risk profile.”
“What’s important to know is that ConnectID is not creating new honeypots of data; in fact, we never see or store customer data. At every step, ConnectID ensures convenience and confidence, quickly and securely verifying customer identities,” says Black.
Katherine Sleeth, General Manager, Open Data, CBA, says: “Commonwealth Bank is supportive of ConnectID, which will simplify customer identification and authentication needs for businesses and consumers across the economy. With strong security and privacy controls, it will help keep consumers’ data safer online.”
Brad Carr, Executive, Digital Governance, NAB, says: “We’re proud to support the launch of ConnectID today, which will make life so much easier for Australians when they are going through a process of validating their identity online and doing so in a safe way that protects their data and privacy.”
“This represents a significant and exciting milestone in the journey towards enabling both NAB customers and the wider community to go about their digital lives more securely, whilst supporting growth and confidence in the Australian digital economy.”
The Australian Federal Government released the National Strategy for Identity Resilience in June, outlining how state and territory governments should make their digital ID systems more robust.
In September 2021, ConnectID was the first non-government operator of a digital identity exchange to be accredited under the Australian Government’s Trusted Digital Identity Framework (TDIF), which sets standards, rules and guidelines based on international best practice.
Lynn Kraus, CEO of AP+, says: “At AP+ we see ConnectID playing an important role in building trust in our digital economy. We’re partnering with proven guardians of identity documentation such as the major banks to deliver simple and safe identity verification.”
“We’re keen to see ConnectID play a role in an Australian digital identity framework that brings together both the government and non-government sectors in a world-leading solution to help protect people’s data.”