Outgoing Minister for the UK Cabinet Office Francis Maude has said that Britain's government-backed digital identity service Verify has equally important implications for the private sector.Speaking at Sprint 15, the third annual showcase for digital government, Maude said that while government is the first customer for Verify's federated model of certified identity assurance providers, that there was potential demand beyond the public sector."That's why the Cabinet Office joined the Open Identity Exchange OIX, so we can work with like-minded organisations to explore this potential", said Maude."Customer registration processes in banking, insurance, transport and retail can all be improved – and fraud reduced – through a trustworthy and convenient digital identity assurance infrastructure."Government Digital Service co-chair Maude, who this week announced he was standing down as an MP, noted that the Cabinet Office had been working with the South Yorkshire Credit Union to see how digital identity can help people who are financially excluded."If we could check identity and eligibility and make decisions in real-time we could revolutionise the delivery of public services," he said.GOV.UK Verify uses certified companies (also known as identity providers) to undertake a set of checks to establish to a defined level of confidence in a person's identity. It has also built a document checking service so that identity providers can check information digitally matches a valid record.Identity checks are typically based on financial records, such as credit card or mortgage history.

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