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UK banks develop digital verification service for customer transactions
UK Finance is supporting six major banks to create a digital verification service that lets customers share verified personal details through banking apps. The service would allow secure data sharing with third parties for purchases, age checks, property deals and account openings without physical documents.
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UK Finance is supporting Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest Group and Santander to develop a financial services-led digital verification service. The service would let customers verify personal details such as name, age or address through their banking app and share that information securely with third parties.
Planned uses The system could be used for online purchases, age and identity verification on digital platforms, property transactions and opening accounts online. Customers would not need to provide physical documents such as passports or utility bills for each transaction.
Customer control and security UK Finance said any future service would be voluntary and require explicit customer consent, with customers controlling what data is shared and when. The organization stated that bank-verified credentials could help reduce scams, fake accounts and synthetic identities.
Development timeline The project has used synthetic data to test requirements.
A live pilot in a controlled real-world environment is scheduled for the coming months. UK Finance said it welcomes expressions of interest from retailers, digital platforms and other organizations that want to participate in future pilots. Jana Mackintosh, managing director for payments and innovation at UK Finance, said the financial services sector is positioned to deliver a secure and trusted digital verification service.
