DIGITAL LIFE

BankID introduces digital ID card

Bursting wallets are becoming less and less common, as cash becomes rarer and payment cards move into phones. Now BankID(https://www.bankid.com/foretag/digitalt-id-kort) takes the concept a step further and announces that they soon before digital ID cardwhich makes it possible to show the ID without having to pick up the plastic card first.

To activate a digital ID card, a valid ID document in the form of a Swedish passport or national ID card is required. Driving license or other ID documents are not enough. With it, it is possible to create a digital copy, which has the same validity period as the original. Expired, blocked or for other reasons invalid ID documents cannot be displayed or registered.

According to BankID, the authentication process builds on how BankID already works, with “some additions for physical environment”. In order to display the digital ID card, normal identification in the BankID application is therefore first required. When the person’s identity is verified, a picture, personal information, security details and a QR code are displayed. To meet the requirements for “strong and reliable identification”, the QR code must be scanned, which requires them to be connected to BankID and use their interface.

BankID is a private actor and companies are free to choose whether they want to approve digital ID cards. About 8 million Swedes already use BankID and, among other things, the Financial Supervisory Authority has previously expressed that the service should be placed under state supervision or replaced with a state version to avoid security risks.

by Noelia Donoso Ahlström