A trustworthy digital-ID solution
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Discover one of the articles from our brand new magazine, the Belgium Fintech Magazine - #1 Dec 23
A trustworthy digital-ID solution is the way to go in the Digital Finance Market
An interview with Tom Van Den Bosch, Chief Product Officer at itsme
The Fintech market is booming with new solutions, but a quick glance in the crystal ball tells us, that in the years to come, we most likely will see them standing on the shoulders of a digital-ID solution.
In the early days of the internet, we didn’t consider who we were communicating with or what data we were sharing. We were deeply fascinated by the new technological possibilities and didn’t pay much attention to the potential consequences. That is not the case anymore. As opportunities have grown, so have the threats, and today, we want full control over our digital identity.
According to Chief Product Officer Tom Van Den Bosch of the company itsme, which develops and markets solutions for digital identification, it’s no longer a brave new world. It’s a world with pitfalls where protecting personal integrity and trust have become more crucial than ever before. The risk of having one’s digital identity stolen or compromised in the digital universe is much higher than ever before.
Share Without Permission
“Our company is only 6 years old, but today, already 90% of Belgium’s inhabitants above 16 years of age use our solution. This is not only because we strive to create solutions with a high degree of user-friendliness and security but also because we have a close collaboration with both the private sector as well as the Belgian authorities, supporting the national Belgian eID standard,” explains Tom Van Den Bosch.
Through their bank or ID document , it’s easy for citizens to activate their account. This eliminates any doubt about the citizen’s identity. Once the itsme-account has been created, one can, with the itsme-app, securely log in, share data, confirm transactions, or digitally sign with government and semi-government services, almost all banks, most insurance companies, many health institutions, telecom providers, document platforms, and many more.
“In addition to supporting more than 2,000 governmental platforms, we also have more than 800 private partners,” elaborates Tom Van Den Bosch. The company is currently considering expanding into new markets. Regardless of the markets, the common denominator is that there should be no doubt about the user’s identity, and the user should have control over which data is shared with whom.
Highest Security Standards
The company complies with several European security standards. The itsme-app has been officially recognised by Europe as a reliable means of identification, at the highest level. The app therefore fulfils the highest security requirements of eIDAS (European regulation on electronic identification and trust services for electronic transactions). An itsme-signature is a Qualified Electronic Signature acknowledged by eIDAS and all EU Member States, which means that the signature has the same legal value as a handwritten signature.
Seen from the financial sector point of view, itsme offers a mobile solution for strong multi-factor authentication and is fully compliant with the European PSD2 directive. The app also works closely with the banking sector and is compliant with a series of uniform rules applied by the European Banking Authority (EBA).
Don’t forget the user experience
“We are compatible with a number of other security solutions, but one of our strong features is the user-friendliness of our solution. You use our app the same way every time. You initiate an action, e.g., a login, at a company, you receive a notification in the app, and you confirm with your secret personal code or biometric authentication like touch or face ID. This makes every action smooth, intuitive, and recognizable,” says Tom Van Den Bosch. He continues:
“That is a very important topic. We are very much aware of the groups in the population that may have difficulty operating digital technologies, such as the elderly and disabled. So, we also try to make our solution as inclusive as possible,” specifies Tom Van Den Bosch.
Share Without Permission
Everything is totally transparent. You can see in the app which action you are performing, what data you are sharing, and with which partner. Whatever you do, you must always confirm and enter your secret code or initiate your biometric verification yourself. This ensures that your personal data is never shared without your explicit consent. The digital identity can only be used on your smartphone, using the app and a personal secret code or biometry.
“We facilitate data cooperation in the sense that, for example, a car rental company, in addition to identifying the customer, also needs to verify the driver’s license and needs to handle the payment. In the future, the user will also be able to share these data through itsme. However, we only facilitate the data exchange, without consulting nor storing the data. In an ideal world, the data even never leaves the source. That is a crucial pre-requisite if we want to evolve towards a healthy data economy,” concludes Tom Van Den Bosch.
By Henrik Malmgreen / HighTech Denmark
Published and Distributed by FinTech Belgium asbl
Contact: Alessandra Guion - CEO
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