Yoti blog
Stories and insights from the world of digital identity
Yoti selected as the official identity provider for the Government of Jersey
Today marks a landmark day for Yoti. We have been selected as the identity provider for the Government of Jersey. Securing our first government contract is a huge milestone in our journey and something all of the team are incredibly proud of. Jersey’s search for an ID solution In August 2017, Jersey’s Government issued a tender which called for a digital ID solution. This was part of the eGov initiative to get more services online, such as filing a tax return, registering to vote and accessing the citizen portal. The Government wants to offer a greater range of online services but needs to be certain that the users are who they say they are. What does this mean for Jersey citizens? Yoti will give islanders a simple, fast and secure way to prove their identity, online and in person. They’ll be able to use Yoti to: Prove who they are when dealing with the States of Jersey online and in person, making it more convenient when using digital services and reducing the risk of identity theft and fraud Log into websites more securely without having to remember usernames and passwords – helping to protect online accounts and personal information Leave valuable ID documents safe at home and prove their age with their phone Prove their identity to businesses without showing and photocopying paper documents Jersey’s visionary choice to use a digital identity system will help its government bodies, businesses and citizens to get things done in a simple and secure way, with less risk of fraud – an issue which costs the global society billions every year. By giving individuals a free digital identity which they can create in minutes, businesses across a range of sectors can begin to leverage the benefits of digital identity into their own products and services, including finance, voting, healthcare, physical asset management, and many more. Assistant Minister, Deputy Scott Wickenden, said: “One of the reasons we have chosen Yoti is that its verification system can be used by many other organisations. People are more likely to sign up with a service that they can use for a number of different purposes, and because Yoti can verify identity, and therefore age, this means that a wide range of industries – from financial services to hospitality – can use it to verify the identities of their customers.” The States of Jersey’s Chief Executive, Charlie Parker, said: “This important piece of technology is fundamental to the restructuring of our public services and the provision of integrated, online services to islanders. We have established one set of standards for all our online services and now we have a digital ID system that allows islanders to interact with government on a confidential, secure basis. This is a vital step in modernising the States of Jersey, and in developing an effective, efficient and responsive public sector, with outstanding services at its core.” This is just the start of a great partnership with Jersey. We hope that their government, businesses and citizens will benefit from a secure digital identity system for many years to come. Time to raise a glass and celebrate!?
Yoti partners with the Improvement Service to help deliver digital services to Scottish citizens
Today marks a landmark day for Yoti. We’ve been selected by the Improvement Service in Scotland to help transform local and regional services. We’ll give Scottish residents an easier and safer way of proving their age and entitlement to access a wide range of services, rewards and discounts. What does this mean for Scottish citizens? They will be able to leave valuable ID documents like their passport, driving licence, and other existing forms of identity safe at home, and prove who they are using Yoti. Scottish residents will, in the future, be able to use Yoti to: Prove who they are to businesses without showing or photocopying paper documents Prove their age on nights out and when buying age-restricted goods Prove their entitlement to use local services, including leisure and sports facilities Show their age on transport services to qualify for travel concessions Confirm the identity of people they meet online Log in to websites more securely without passwords Securely access online public services by applying for a myaccount Verified digital identities will help transform local and regional services as businesses and government bodies have confidence individuals are who they say they are; creating more trust and transparency in the details shared. Sarah Gadsden, the Improvement Service’s interim CEO said, “We anticipate smartphone ownership will continue to grow and as technology evolves and mobile usage increases, we’re committed to maximise the use of secure mobile and digital technology to deliver information and services to citizens. Yoti will help us and our partners in the drive to transform essential public services and improve outcomes, meet our own and wider aspirations to deliver more information online, and give individuals a safer and more convenient way to prove their age and entitlement to access services. We selected Yoti due to their innovative, user-centric, secure and privacy-by-design approach.” This is just the start of a great partnership in Scotland. We hope businesses and individuals will benefit from digital services for many years to come.
Yoti and LedgerState showcase how next generation blockchain technology can transform the way governments handle personal data
Yoti and LedgerState today showcased at the World Economic Forum how governments and other organisations can capitalise on evolutions in blockchain technology to store personal data of their citizens and customers. Yoti, the digital identity platform, lets people create verified digital identities through their free smartphone app. The app uses facial recognition technology and a security team to match facial biometrics to approved photo IDs. These digital identities can then be written to a private ledger using an evolution of blockchain technology called Hashgraph. Hashgraph uses an asynchronous process, meaning it is not reliant on the proof of work systems required by a synchronous solution like public blockchain solutions. This speeds up the process and makes it more suitable for identity and payment platforms. The proof of concept showed how an individual can verify themselves to a government database and then have additional attributes attached to their identity by an approved official. This could be sensitive information like a tax code or a health insurance number. Those details are then written to a secure, private distributed ledger that can only be accessed by approved officials. This gives governments (and indeed other organisations) the ability to take advantage of the benefits of blockchain technology and its immutable records without having to compromise speed, cost effectiveness and efficiency. Robin Tombs, founder and CEO of Yoti said: ‘Yoti can work well with first and second generational public blockchain technologies like Bitcoin and Ethereum for some elements of our identity platform, like KYC. However, third generation technologies like the Hashgraph can handle the requirements of a global identity platform authenticating millions of users each day at the required low transactional costs. Most consumers will currently tolerate a KYC Verification completing in a minute or two, but not for log in or payment which need to be almost instantaneous. Permission-based networks leveraging new asynchronous protocol technology like LedgerState’s use of Hashgraph, let Yoti take advantage of the many benefits of a distributed ledger solution whilst not compromising on the effectiveness of our identity platform.’ Nino Vang Vojvodic and Damir Yandrich, founders of LedgerState said: ‘Now there are finally tools and systems available for governments to grant a higher level of Sovereignty to their citizens. Early implementers will gain significant advantage when it comes to attracting the best talent and people to their citizenship or residency.’
Tickets for Good and creative partnerships
In the non-profit partnerships team at Yoti, we’re always excited when we are able to see through a really socially impactful use case of our identity checking platform. Occasionally, however, the stars align and through one great partnership, we are able to creatively mobilise our resources to go that bit further. Social impact through your social life This happened recently with Steve Rimmer, Co-Founder of the Tickets for Good platform and related non-profit initiatives including the Tickets for Good Foundation and the TicketBank. We first met Steve when he applied for our non-profit hack event in September. He had all the ingredients for a good project – deep understanding of users, a clear problem statement, and – critically – the dedication and enthusiasm to be a great product owner. We jumped at inviting him to participate, and were thrilled when his idea to develop TicketBank, a platform to facilitate the donation of event tickets to charity partners, won a developer team to work on the project for the next few weeks. Business for good We quickly discovered that in addition to our shared drive to support non-profit work, we were also keen advocates of the BCorps movement of companies committed to using business as a force for good – we’ve been an accredited member since 2015, and Steve is currently going through the process for TicketsforGood. We therefore had the pleasure of collaborating further on a BCorps project over the next few months. However, our partnership with Steve didn’t end there. Joint mission Steve ‘got’ Yoti – not just the technology, but also our principles. So he started to explore its use case for other projects he’s working on, and has already integrated Yoti to be used to register and login on the TicketsforGood platform. He could also see utility for MyVenue for Clubs application, which enables people to use their Yoti app on their phone to prove their age at bars and clubs. So he kindly made introductions to a number of Sheffield venues. On our side, we knew a number of charities we thought could benefit from the TicketBank. We introduced Steve to vInspired – and they are planning to partner on this project this year. We’ve also offered him the use of our events space should he ever need it. It’s been great working with Steve, thinking creatively about how we can help and learn from each other. This is very much the BCorps spirit and something we’d like to apply to our partnerships more generally. If you’re a non-profit or BCorps and would like to talk about how we can work together, please get in touch!
Introducing Yoti Password Manager
It’s safe to say that most of us are fed up with usernames and passwords. We know we should use stronger, unique passwords. It’s just that it’s not that easy to remember 14 random numbers and letters, is it. It’s hard enough to remember the variants you have of the one password you use for most of your accounts and websites, let alone a unique password for each one. The problem with passwords Good job then, that passwords are as rubbish as we are at remembering them. Passwords just aren’t adequate for protecting our online accounts anymore. The number of recent data breaches is testament to that. In 2017, 122 data records were stolen every single second (Breach Level Index, 2017). It’s clear that what the world needs is a modern solution that makes life easier for the average person, but harder for fraudsters. Well, look no further. Introducing: Yoti’s password manager—where you are your password. Managing your passwords with Yoti When you use Yoti to safely store and easily access your logins for your favourite sites, you are in full control of your data. There’s no master password to remember; using your biometrics to access and make use of an encrypted store of all your usernames and passwords makes signing in faster, safer and simpler. It even helps you generate unique, strong passwords for even better protection. Here’s how it works: Download the free Yoti app for Android or iOS, if you don’t already have it. Download the password manager extension to your computer for Chrome or Firefox. Once installed, you’ll see an icon in the top right hand corner of your browser. Click this icon to display a Yoti QR code. Scan the code with the Yoti app on your phone and that’s it—you’re ready to go. Simply log in to websites on your computer as normal and Yoti will offer to store your details and fill them in for you every time you visit. There’s no need to remember passwords anymore—Yoti does it for you. When you step away from your computer, simply lock the Yoti extension with a click (or the extension will automatically lock after 15 minutes of inactivity), so that someone using your laptop or computer can’t see your passwords. If someone else attempts to unlock the extension, you’ll receive a notification on your phone. Tapping ‘Cancel’ on the notification will deny access, keeping the browser extension locked. To unlock the extension again just click the ‘Unlock’ button in the browser extension. You’ll then receive a push notification on your phone to unlock your passwords. When you’re done browsing, remember to sign out of the extension and all your logins will remain secured and encrypted. You can sign in to the extension again at any time by scanning the code using your Yoti app. Keeping your details safe Security is absolutely key with everything we do at Yoti—our password manager is no exception. We take security seriously and always put the safety of your personal data first. With our password manager, we’ve developed a password management tool with Yoti security embedded throughout. Multiple users with different logins on the same PC or Mac With our password manager, you simply need to install the browser extension and then anyone who uses it can access their secure logins with their own Yoti. This means you can have a family laptop with the Yoti extension installed but anybody with Yoti can access their own logins. This means Yoti could also be used on public or shared devices in the workspace, whilst keeping all of your personal passwords and accounts secure. No master password Unlike other password managers, ours doesn’t rely on a master password to secure all of your passwords. As we said, passwords are no longer adequate for protecting our information. Our password manager is connected to your Yoti account so the only way to access and use your passwords is by using the Yoti app on your phone. Locked passwords Once you have finished on the laptop or computer you were using, you can lock the password manager. So, if someone then uses the same computer after you, they won’t have access to any of your passwords. Once you sign out of the password manager, no data is left on the laptop or computer you were using. You can walk away safe in the knowledge that there is nothing for anyone to find. The only way to unlock and use your login details is with your Yoti account. Linked to your Yoti account All details are encrypted, and the only way to decrypt them is with your Yoti. If someone else got hold of your phone, firstly they would have to gain access to the phone (either by guessing your phone’s PIN or possessing your fingerprint). They would then need to log in to your Yoti app—with a limited number of attempts at the PIN before they’re locked out. This is the first version of our password manager. It’s available on Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox but we’re working on bringing it to other browsers soon. If you’d like to be notified when it’s available for other browsers, leave your email here and we’ll let you know. And the best news? It’s free! If you have any questions about our password manager, please get in touch.
Yoti accepted into the FCA Sandbox
Yesterday the FCA revealed the next round of successful firms in its regulatory sandbox. We’re proud and excited to say that Yoti is one of those companies, along with Barclays, Nationwide, First Direct and Solidi, to name a few. The FCA Sandbox allows firms to test innovative products, services or business models in a live market environment, while ensuring appropriate protections are in place. It’s a fantastic way to encourage innovation in financial services. Yoti’s involvement in the sandbox We will be using the sandbox to test consumer’s appetite for our innovative form of KYC, which lets people prove their identity via our digital identity app. Individuals can prove their identity in seconds without having to rely on paper documents, and financial services companies can benefit from fast and accurate KYC, as well as save time and money when verifying the identities of their customers. Every Yoti account is linked to a government-issued identity document and personal biometrics so businesses can be confident the details shared with them are real. When an individual shares their information using Yoti, they see which identity details are being requested and give their consent to share them. They also receive a digital receipt so they can easily keep track of who they have shared details with. Some businesses still believe they need to see an actual image of the identity document to be compliant. We want to demonstrate a data minimisation approach to KYC, encouraging firms to only request the details they actually need from their customers, which is both compliant and better for individuals. If you’d like to know more about our involvement with the FCA Sandbox, please get in touch.
Essential reading
Get up to speed on what kind of company we are
How Curio traders in Malawi could benefit from digital identity
As we go about our social purpose work we regularly get to speak to local, national and international non-profit organisations. Over the years, we’ve found that many struggle to understand the many ways digital identity solutions might help them in their work. As part of our wider efforts to help the sector make sense of the technology, today we’re publishing the last in a series of articles looking at the use of digital identities in six different humanitarian and environmental settings. Please note that, while the technology use case is real, the scenarios are hypothetical in nature, and the projects do not exist as stated. Location Malawi Scenario Security for Curio Traders Background Visitors to Malawi are spoiled for choice when it comes to selecting authentic curios and souvenirs to take home with them. Apart from locally produced paintings, baskets and batiks, there are countless beautiful wooden carvings that are made on site and sold to visitors. Malawi has always been known for its talented wood carvers who create a diversity of sculptures and plaques depicting mostly African scenery, people and animals. Carved pieces by Malawian artists can be found in Buckingham Palace and the Vatican Museum, as well as in several churches in western countries, where they decorate the walls. Wood carving is a traditional Malawian art form and a skill that is passed from fathers to sons. Selling the pieces to tourists is a way for many families to earn a living as the ornate detail and beauty of the indigenous hardwoods from which they are made, are prized by tourists. Curio vendors have been assisted by the Malawian government, building markets in which the vendors may display their wares and conduct business. This has resulted in improved sales as the vendors do not need to pack up their wares and take them away each evening or cease business during times of inclement weather. The government promotes wood carving as a potential earner of foreign exchange through exports and a generator of income for poor Malawians. Challenge Since early 2020, the curio vendors in Malawi have suffered serious financial setbacks. With the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, international borders have been closed and tourism has ground to a halt. Some vendors have given up and moved back to rural areas where they hope to cultivate enough food to stave off starvation. Others remain at the markets where they spend the days polishing dust off their carvings and hoping that someone will come along and purchase something that day. A group of struggling vendors have got together to explore the possibility of sending small consignments of carvings to neighbouring South Africa which has a much larger and more affluent population. They hope that there will be a market for their goods, despite the current travel restrictions. Unfortunately, none of the men have passports and they have reservations about trusting an unknown transporter who may cross the border with their carvings and never be seen again. Solution The curio vendors set up a network of trusted members using certain digital identifiers. Members include wood carvers and potential transporters with driving licences and vehicles. To become a member, an individual must produce two significant pieces of identity documentation. These could be a national ID card, bank card, birth certificate, marriage certificate, driver’s licence or personal testimony from a village head. The documentation is photographed and stored in a database which also includes a photograph of the face of each member. Thereafter, members can identify themselves as authentic, bona fide traders using their photographs. This system would allow a registered and known transporter to collect a consignment of high-quality curios from verified members of the group. The transporter may agree to pay a sum of money as a deposit before leaving for the border with the curios. Once the curios have been sold to retailers in South Africa, the customs fees and transporter’s costs can be deducted and the remainder of the income paid to the Malawian vendors before the next consignment is collected. Read our other scenarios on how digital identity might: be used to monitor food and cash rations be used to help make cross-border trading easier help protect endangered southern ground hornbills in Zimbabwe promote education in Angola improve maternity and childcare in Kenya
How could digital identity improve maternity and childcare in Kenya?
As we go about our social purpose work we regularly get to speak to local, national and international non-profit organisations. Over the years, we’ve found that many struggle to understand the many ways digital identity solutions might help them in their work. As part of our wider efforts to help the sector make sense of the technology, today we’re publishing the fifth of six articles looking at the use of digital identities in six different humanitarian and environmental settings. Please note that, while the technology use-case is real, the scenarios are hypothetical in nature, and the projects do not exist as stated. Location Kenya Scenario Maternity and Childcare Clinic Background According to the World Health Organisation, 60% of mothers in sub-Saharan Africa give birth without ever consulting with a healthcare worker. This leads to an increase in the likelihood of complications that can cause maternal and child death. In Kenya, in particular, the mortality rate of mothers during pregnancy and childbirth is considered to be high and was given as 342 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2019. The reason for this is that many women live in rural areas where there are no health care clinics and they can therefore not access antenatal guidance or the help of trained health professionals. Transport to clinics in larger towns is also costly and this adds to the likelihood that pregnant women in Kenya will be unable to consult a health care worker for assistance. UNICEF states that “The causes of maternal death are mostly preventable”, and links decreased maternal mortality with regular attendance at an antenatal or primary health care clinic. Historically, Kenyan women had to pay a fee to attend a maternity clinic and this added to the inaccessibility of these services to the average mother-to-be. In 2013, the Kenyan government implemented a Free Maternity Service policy which resulted in an increase in the number of women who attended maternity clinics. In addition, Kenya has made great progress in recent years in institutionalising community primary health services. Numerous small maternity clinics have been established in rural areas, usually with the help of NGOs, donors and other stakeholders such as UNICEF and USAID. Trained nurses and midwives at these clinics focus on educating mothers-to-be about nutrition, childbirth and hygiene, and on assisting and supporting during the birth of the baby. Challenge With maternity clinics and antenatal services more accessible to Kenyan women than ever before, there has been a significant increase in the number of women seeking to register at these facilities. However, many of the women have no documentation and are unable to identify themselves officially. In rural communities, children are mostly born at home and their births are not recorded in a hospital. This means that many people in these communities have no birth certificates. In Kenya, a birth certificate is needed in order to apply for a national identity card which is, in turn, required for a biometric identity number – known as a Huduma Namba, or “service number” in Swahili. Rural women may therefore remain undocumented, along with millions of others in the Kenyan population. Solution A maternity clinic could register pregnant women who wish to make use of the antenatal and health care services offered. Registration would involve recording a woman’s name, address details and any other relevant information, along with a scan of her fingerprint or face. This is the same technology currently used by the Kenyan government authorities in their drive to register every citizen with a digital identity and work number. The database could be stored at the clinic of the woman’s choice, with an undertaking that she must return to the same clinic where she registered for all subsequent check-ups and health issues. Each time a patient returns for a check-up, she would use her fingerprint to authenticate her identity. This would enable the clinic to monitor the progress of the woman’s pregnancy and ensure she attended antenatal classes regularly, to educate her on issues of nutrition, hygiene, breastfeeding and baby care. If she failed to attend one of the classes, the clinic staff would be alerted and may decide to visit her home to ascertain if problems had arisen. After childbirth, the baby’s immunisation schedule and growth could also be monitored and the data stored under the mother’s digital identity file. This data could also be accessed when the woman returned to the clinic for subsequent pregnancies. Read our other scenarios on how digital identity could: be used to monitor food and cash rations be used to help make cross-border trading easier help protect endangered southern ground hornbills in Zimbabwe promote education in Angola
How digital identity could help promote education in Angola
As we go about our social purpose work we regularly get to speak to local, national and international non-profit organisations. Over the years, we’ve found that many struggle to understand the many ways digital identity solutions might help them in their work. As part of our wider efforts to help the sector make sense of the technology, today we’re publishing the fourth of six articles looking at the use of digital identities in six different humanitarian and environmental settings. Please note that, while the technology use-case is real, the scenarios are hypothetical in nature, and the projects do not exist as stated. Location Angola Scenario Resources for Trainee Teachers Background When Angola gained independence from Portugal in 1975, the new government estimated the level of illiteracy in the country to be between 85% and 90%. There then followed 27 years of civil war, during which the country’s education system (what there was of it) was left in chaos. Not only did most of the qualified teachers leave the country, but schools were damaged by gunfire and landmines and civilians became displaced. When the civil war ended in 2002, UN figures indicated that about 45% of Angolan children did not go to school. Those who did attend school often experienced a lack of teachers, overcrowding in unsuitable classrooms or a total absence of classrooms or classroom supplies. However, the Angolan government quickly focused attention on improving the education system and introduced four years of free, compulsory primary education (between the ages of 7 and 11). With the help of aid agencies such as UNESCO, the government has rebuilt many schools and opened hundreds of new ones. By 2018, it employed 17,000 teachers but still estimated that a further 200,000 trained teachers would be needed in order to give all Angolan children a primary school education. Challenge Teachers are particularly needed in rural areas and the NGO, known as ADPP (Aid for the Development of the People by the People), which works with the Angolan Ministry of Education, has set up secondary schools in rural areas specifically to train teachers to work in local primary schools. The three-year training promotes teaching skills through a combination of studies, courses and experiences, and students are expected to research topics for themselves, share ideas and ask questions. The students are usually from poor backgrounds and only have a few years of primary school education themselves. They are not able to purchase textbooks or access internet resources in order to fulfil the research aspects of the training course. In addition, many of them are not in possession of the national ID card due to the problems with access to, and issuance in, rural areas. Solution Each of the new training schools, called Training Colleges for the Teachers of the Future (CTFs), has a library that contains relevant references and study material for the courses offered. Students who register for a course have their personal details recorded, along with a fingerprint and face scan. They are also issued with a student card displaying their photograph. Access to the library involves scanning a student’s fingerprint, whereafter he or she is authorised to enter and borrow resource material. In addition, this gives access to the computer terminals available for research. Students who have already graduated as Teachers of the Future but who may still need to use the resources in the library for reference and guidance may also be given access, via fingerprint scan, for a period of time after completing their training. Read our other scenarios on how digital identity could: be used to monitor food and cash rations be used to help make cross-border trading easier help protect endangered southern ground hornbills in Zimbabwe