A coalition of the UK’s largest retail banks, in partnership with trade body UK Finance, is developing a voluntary digital verification service aimed at eliminating the need for consumers to repeatedly upload physical identity documents online.
Supported by Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest Group, and Santander, the financial services-led initiative will allow customers to securely verify personal details, such as age, name, or address, directly through their existing banking apps.
The system relies on explicit customer consent, ensuring users retain total control over what specific data is shared and when.
Currently, consumers routinely face friction when buying goods, renting properties, or opening accounts online, often being forced to photograph passports or upload utility bills to prove their identity.
The proposed service aims to streamline this by leveraging the pre-verified data and secure infrastructure already maintained by major financial institutions. Instead of handing over a full digital copy of a passport just to prove they are over 18, a customer could simply authorise their bank to confirm their age to a third-party vendor.
Customers must give explicit consent for every individual transaction, dictating exactly what information is shared.
By utilising bank-verified credentials, the service aims to significantly curb scams, fake profiles, and synthetic identity fraud.
“The financial services sector is ideally placed to deliver a secure and trusted digital verification service,” said Jana Mackintosh, Managing Director of Payments and Innovation at UK Finance. “Using already verified information… could help make digital transactions safer, quicker and more convenient as well as ensuring customers have full control over how their data is used.”
The initiative has already completed its initial proof-of-concept phase, which utilised synthetic data to map out the technical, legal, and operational frameworks.
The project is now moving into its next phase: a live pilot in a controlled, real-world environment scheduled for the coming months. Tech firm Select ID has been brought on to lead the technical design and delivery of the rollout.
“We are pleased to support this industry initiative to explore how trusted, bank-verified information can be used to make digital verification more secure and convenient for customers and businesses,” said Nick Mothershaw, CEO of Select ID.
Project leaders emphasised that this utility is entirely separate from the UK government’s ongoing legislative work regarding state-backed digital identities.
While the system is aligned with the UK digital verification services trust framework, it is strictly focused on private sector commercial and retail use cases, such as online shopping and property transactions, rather than public sector or state infrastructure.
UK Finance has issued a call for expressions of interest from retailers, digital platforms, and businesses looking to streamline their online customer verification to participate in the upcoming live pilots.
