Royal Mail completes GOV.UK Verify ID provider rollout

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Company understood to be the last ID provider to gain accreditation to support government platform with PayPal's participation uncertain under current framework



The Royal Mail has become the eighth, and it is understood final ID provider to gain accreditation to support the GOV.UK Verify platform, with PayPal no longer expected to join the list.

From this week, users wishing to access specific online government services will be able to select the company to verify their identity through a service which will be managed by GB Group (GBG) under the Royal Mail brand. GBG is also among the nine companies contracted to support the service following a tender process completed last March and will provide its own ID assurance service through the platform called CitizenSafe.

Verify, which is set to switch from public beta to a live service next month, has been developed as a platform to allow users to select one of several pre-chosen companies to perform a check on their identity to access government online services.

Eight out of the nine contracted providers chosen to support the service following a framework procurement have now gained accreditation to provide assurance services. These companies include Barclays, Morpho, the Post Office, Experian, Digidentity and Verizon.

PayPal's involvement is thought to be uncertain.

GBG managing director John Lord said that the full service the company runs for Royal Mail was now live and providing ID assurance services for users both via mobile devices like smart and mobile phones, as well as desktop computers.

Once successfully registered, users will then be able to access services with one of three verification methods; either via SMS, a downloadable app that reads specially provided QR codes or via access codes provided online to the registered user.

Under the terms of their agreement, GBG will manage all technology for the service, with Royal Mail handling call centre services where users may need to clarify technical issues over the phone.

Lord said that while the Government Digital Service (GDS) terms for ID providers allowed certified companies to provide services for up to two companies, GBG had opted to focus just on supporting Royal Mail as part of an ongoing working relationship, as well as offering CitizenSafe.

He added that the company was already making significant use of Royal Mail data in its wider ID assurance and anti-fraud operations, with information like the change of address list being used as one of several processes to confirm user ID.

Lord argued that by using multiple sources of data such as credit details and government-held information, its service was designed to support both older users though less likely to have smartphone uses or younger people with limited credit histories.

He said that the majority of users would be able to complete the sign up process within about ten minutes based largely around the contents of their wallet and confirmation of some recent personal details that only the individual would know, although phone support was provided for extra clarification to log in to the service.

Lord claimed that the on-boarding criteria set by government for accredited suppliers was much more rigorous than anti-money laundering measures currently used by banking groups provided by online services.

He added that the design of Verify, which is intended to function as a distributed ledger, meant no data concerning the users was kept or stored centrally in a way that could be accessed by hackers or unauthorised individuals.

Operating under the platform, Lord said that GBG was confident CitizenSafe would exceed government targets for having 90% of potential users able to verify identity through GOV.UK Verify, while committing to expand the types of data sets used.

However, he added that while these additional data sources had been planned, they could not be disclosed owing to "commercial sensitivity" reasons.

Current authentication success rates for the platform, which relates to the proportion of visits where users arrive back with a successful outcome stands at 83% as of last week.

The Cabinet Office has previously said that work to try and expand data sets used to ascertain identity is among the key challenges for the GOV.UK Verify platform as it moves towards being a live service.

However at present, the authentication completion rate, used to count the proportion of visits to GOV.UK Verify with a successful outcome - defined as either user sign-in or account creation - was 33% for the week ending March 6.

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Royal Mail launches certified identity service that connects with gov.uk verify

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Royal Mail has today launched its certified identity service that connects to the GOV.UKVerify platform.

Royal Mail has today launched its certified identity service that connects to GOV.UKVerify, the new way to safely and securely access government services online

Royal Mail’s identity service has been built to meet government specifications and forms part of the identity verification process that gives citizens online access to an increasing range of government services whilst protecting them from identity theft

Royal Mail will use multiple data providers to maximise the prospect of successfully verifying an individual’s identity

The Royal Mail verification process will be quick and easy to use. It will also give people control over their own data, eliminating the need for information about individuals to be stored in a central government database

The GOV.UK Verify platform is free of charge and aims to make government services more accessible

Royal Mail has today launched its certified identity service that connects to the GOV.UKVerify platform. The service is the new, free of charge verification process that enables users to prove who they are online, so that they can access a range of government services – such as viewing your driving licence information, getting a pension statement, or applying for Universal Credit.

When using government online services on GOV.UK, users need to be sure their privacy is protected and their data and identity is secure; while government departments providing the services need to know the user is who they say they are.

As a GOV.UK Verify certified company, Royal Mail will ‘verify’ the identity of consumers using their name, gender, address and date of birth. Users will also be asked to supply a passport or driver’s licence number to further validate that they are the person they say they are. These checks may vary, depending on the level of assurance the service requires, but could include counter-fraud checks and activity history.To maximise the prospect of successfully verifying an individual’s identity, Royal Mail will use multiple data providers.
If the information matches, users will be granted a unique online identity, with username and password. The process will be quick, easy and free for consumers. It will also give people control over their own data, eliminating the need for information about individuals to be stored in one central government database.

There are currently nine digital services¹ available including claiming a tax refund, getting a pension statement, submitting a tax self-assessment and applying for Universal Credit. A further 15² are expected to roll out over the next 18 months. These include amending a driver record, applying for child maintenance and signing a mortgage deed.

Royal Mail is one of nine certified companies chosen by the GOV.UK Verify to act as an ID service provider. As the Universal Service provider, Royal Mail is entrusted with the delivery of mail to the UK’s 29 million addresses. The secure management of complex data, in particular the Postcode Address File used for delivery, is at the core of the company’s expertise.

More than 470,000 user identities have now been verified³ through GOV.UK Verify. In the coming years, over 10 million people a year are predicted to use the system.

Any information supplied as part of Royal Mail’s – and other identity service providers - verification process will only be used to confirm the user’s identity and authenticate the application.

Jim Conning, Managing Director of Royal Mail Data Services, said: “Royal Mail has a long track record of supporting its customers with data-driven services from managing the Postcode Address File we use to deliver to the UK’s 29 million addresses, to helping more than two million people a year move house without facing the risk of ID fraud with our Redirection service.

“Royal Mail’s new certified identity service is part of our strategy to innovate and introduce new platforms where we can grow, while maintaining our leading position in the letters and parcels markets.”

More information on Royal Mail’s certified identity platform and links to the Government services that use it are available at http://www.royalmail.com/identity-verification" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

For more information, please contact:
Mark Street
0203 338 1007
mark.street@royalmail.com

Notes to editors
¹Nine services already available through GOV.UK Verify:

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Royal Mail has launched its certified identity service that connects to GOV.UK Verify, the new way to safely and securely access government services online.

Their identity service has been built to meet government specifications and forms part of the identity verification process that gives citizens online access to an increasing range of government services whilst protecting them from identity theft.

As a GOV.UK Verify certified company, Royal Mail will ‘verify’ the identity of consumers using their name, gender, address and date of birth. Users will also be asked to supply a passport or driver’s licence number to further validate that they are the person they say they are. These checks may vary, depending on the level of assurance the service requires, but could include counter-fraud checks and activity history. To maximise the prospect of successfully verifying an individual’s identity, Royal Mail will use multiple data providers.

If the information matches, users will be granted a unique online identity, with username and password. The process will be quick, easy and free for consumers. It will also give people control over their own data, eliminating the need for information about individuals to be stored in one central government database.

The chances are high that at some point you’ll be one of the 10 million people a year predicted to use the system. There are already nine digital services available including claiming a tax refund, getting a pension statement, submitting a tax self-assessment and applying for Universal Credit. A further 15 are expected to roll out over the next 18 months. These include amending a driver record, applying for child maintenance and signing a mortgage deed.

Royal Mail is one of nine certified companies chosen by the GOV.UK Verify to act as an ID service provider. As the Universal Service provider, Royal Mail is entrusted with the delivery of mail to the UK’s 29 million addresses. The secure management of complex data, in particular the Postcode Address File used for delivery, is at the core of the company’s expertise.

Jim Conning, Managing Director of Royal Mail Data Services says that the new certified identity service is part of ROyal Mail’s strategy to innovate and introduce new platforms where they can grow, while maintaining their leading position in the letters and parcels markets.

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Trouble is I don't trust Royal Mail to get my pay correct each week, let alone to have even more information of mine and to actually keep it safe.