New Zealand government-owned authentication service RealMe has signed a deal that will deliver e-signature capability and biometric identification.Minister of Internal Affairs Peter Dunne has welcomed a partnership between the RealMe verification service and Secured Signing, saying it will give people using e-signatures an easy and reliable way to assure identity.Secured Signing enables people to sign documents electronically while RealMe, owned by NZ Post, enables them to prove who they are online.Used together, the services boost convenience and assurance for people who are signing documents, Dunne said.”With the benefits of biometric identification in its toolkit, Secured Signing can now offer its clients more surety about shifting their businesses online,” said NZ Post's head of agency services and RealMe, Mandy Smith.Launched in July 2013, RealMe provides two services: a RealMe basic account, and a RealMe verified account used by partners such as banks. The latter service, however, has struggled to win users.During the 2014 financial year, RealMe gained 15,212 new verified accounts, well short of its target of 50,000 to 100,000.However, since then more government services, such as the Department of Internal Affairs' register for births, deaths and marriages, have come on board.Banks BNZ and TSB have adopted RealMe as well as a host of government services, including the Electoral Commission and student loan service StudyLink.With RealMe, local councils, banks, schools, law firms, real estate companies and others will have access to government-backed digital proof of identity services, Dunne said.Secured Signing runs a software as a service digital signature that enables users capture their signature and fill-in and verify documents online or via mobile phones.
New Zealand ID programme debuts e-signature tech
