Definition
Identities and/or identity information (e.g., name, date of birth, etc.) can be verified or authenticated using digital—rather than manual—means in the context of in-person transactions.
Source
(i) Data provided by ID authorities in response to questionnaires, as part of the ID4D Global Dataset data collection; and (ii) Desk research relying on official sources, such as government websites, press releases, reports from UN agencies, and other development partners.
Development Relevance
Enabling digital identity verification and authentication for in-person transactions can have benefits for streamlining service delivery and reducing certain types of fraud. Digital verification of identities or certain attributes can reduce transaction costs and enhance the convenience and speed of many transactions by providing higher levels of assurance or trust. This, in turn, has the potential to simplify services and transactions, making them faster and easier (e.g., by reducing the number of physical documents to be presented) and to decrease the cost of onboarding for people, government, and businesses.
Methodology
The “digital ID verification” indicator is coded as a “Yes” when there is at least one public and/or private service provider that can use the ID system to verify and/or authenticate a person’s information or identity digitally. Therefore, it should be interpreted as a lower bound for the availability and use of digital identity for in-person transactions within a country. This broad-based approach was adopted, given data limitations and the diversity of verification and authentication mechanisms and modalities. For more details, see: https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/099020824141510923/pdf/P176341192f2c50e11bc5619be95c4fb2ed.pdf.