Can the Britcard evolve into a dynamic, relationship-based identity card?

Yes, it can, with orchestration and decisioning as smart plumbing.

Turn static wallets into flexible and dynamic relationship handlers.

** Utilize orchestration to integrate wallets with services that verify identity data and implement anti-fraud checks.

** Use decisioning to modify the transaction process to align with security, privacy, and usability requirements.

If you are in the UK or follow UK technology updates, you would have noticed a lot of excitement and debate about the UK government’s announcement of a mandatory identity card.

We won’t continue the debate about mandated identity here, as at Avoco, we prefer to focus on how our technology can create identity systems that work for everyone.

In another installment of our use case series on how to utilise orchestration and decisioning, we transform the static Britcard into a dynamic relationship card.

What is the Britcard?

DSIT (Department for Science, Innovation and Technology) announced its decision to launch a government wallet in January of this year. The wallet is designed to interoperate with the government’s One Login service, which handles citizen login to services such as the NHS. The wallet will host digital “verifiable credentials,” including a digital driving license and passport.

Static to dynamic identity – why is that a good idea?

Identity is about relationships. Digital relationships are powered by identity data, and like real-world relationships, they need to be flexible and support changes to an individual’s life and profile. A person’s name, age, address, financial standing, and more can change over time. But change can add uncertainty to a transaction. Relationships can be used to set the terms of privacy and security. A trusted relationship is formed when privacy and security are made essential components of the relationship.

Government services and any digital identity wallet or card MUST be trustworthy. A government that builds relationships with its citizens using the BritCard or equivalent must ensure that the relationship is dynamic, two-way, and secure. If the BritCard is now secure or does not take privacy seriously, then the relationship will break down.

Also, the Britcard gov-citizen relationship must be based on truth. People change, so their verified credentials must also change to reflect an accurate picture of who they are at a given time and place. This requires a mechanism supporting the Britcard to ensure that each time the card is used, the correct data, that is appropriately secured and made private, is presented. This may or may not be already resident on the card. It may, or may not, require enhancement through updated checks (reverification). An orchestration and decisioning layer provides the capability to make Britcards and similar wallets dynamic and trustworthy.

Orchestration and decisioning for the Britcard and equivalent identity wallets

Identity data and the verified credentials that it helps create can change. Even static, verified credentials may require additional information to establish a trustworthy relationship (and transaction). Orchestration with decisioning is sometimes referred to as “smart plumbing,” as it provides a framework of connectivity, protocol handling, and signal-based decisions to make a system trustworthy, seamless, and usable.

Britcards and identity wallets are part of our identity landscape, but they are not a standalone answer. With smart plumbing, an identity wallet becomes something much richer and dynamic.

Contact Avoco to explore dynamic identity and the Britcard