The Shift Toward Portable Digital Identity Is Underway

Gartner predicts that, by 2026, at least 500 million smartphone users will be regularly making verifiable claims using a digital identity wallet DIW.

Identity verification IDV in the form of a user taking a picture of their identity document and a selfie is commonly used today. It establishes confidence in the identity of a person during a digital interaction when curated credentials do not exist, are not available or do not provide sufficient assurance. However, due to challenges with the traditional IDV model, solutions based on portable digital identity PDI have emerged.

The market is entering a transition period as PDI solutions are starting to mature, which, in the next five years, will reduce the demand for standalone IDV, said Akif Khan, vice president analyst at Gartner, speaking at the Gartner Security Risk Management Summit in London this week.

Challenges with identity verification

The current IDV model of a user being asked to do the ID-plus-selfie process repeatedly is not ideal. The processes in place today are focused and limited to core identity data name, date of birth, address etc. As more and more processes move online, there is a need to tie many other attributes to a users identity such as educational or workplace qualifications, proof of employment, not to mention healthcare data, said Khan.