Industry Backs AP+ ConnectID for Aussie Digital Identity
Major Australian banks, ANZ, Commonwealth Bank (CBA), National Australia Bank Limited (NAB),and Westpac, announce their support behind Australian Payments Plus’ (AP+) development andestablishment of an open, standards-based national identity infrastructure called ConnectID, toprotect customer privacy and drive productivity in the Digital Economy.Lynn Kraus, CEO AP+ said "This is a major milestone for the Australian industry’s adoption ofdigital identity, aiming to securely and simply deliver a seamless online identity verificationexperience to solve real world issues. This includes proving your identity online for age verification,setting up mobile phone plans, employee onboarding, travel bookings, loan applications and caneven extend through to insurance pay outs.For customers, this means they will be able to verify their identity online simply and safely usingConnectID, an Australian digital identity network. ConnectID makes it easy to verify who you areonline, using the organisations you already trust. It also allows you to share only the informationthat is required, at the time it is needed, giving customers complete control over how their personalinformation is used and peace of mind knowing their data is being kept safe at every step.A strong digital identity ecosystem as envisaged for ConnectID, not only provides more control andsecurity for customers, but recent global reports have estimated the economic benefit and value forcountries like Australia, equates to around 3% GDP by 20301.The newly formed Australian Payments Plus (AP+), brings together digital identity initiatives ofBPAY and eftpos in a combined best-in-class proposition demonstrating the benefits behind therecent consolidation of Australia’s three domestic payment organisations, BPAY Group, eftpos andNPP Australia into the one entity.Ms. Kraus said: “Customer trials are expected in late 2022 followed by a market launch next year.ConnectID is already accredited under the Australian Government’s Trusted Digital IdentityFramework (TDIF).”“We are excited that AP+ can deliver innovation, security, and convenience to the daily lives ofAustralian consumers and businesses through the creation of a national digital identity ecosystemwith ConnectID,” Ms Kraus said.“In Australia there is a real need to facilitate identity verification methods to reduce costs andenhance compliance outcomes for businesses, help reduce the hassle as well as instances offraud and identity theft for Australians, while improving the ‘digital trust’ between customers andvendors.”Andrew Black, Managing Director ConnectID AP+ said: “Australians trust the security and reliabilityof their banks and payments providers, for that reason developing a robust, standards-baseddigital identity ecosystem that can be used by major banks and trusted Australian organisations isa natural extension for AP+.”“ConnectID is committed to help Australian banks, businesses and local retailers protect thesovereignty and security of Australian payments and identity data,” Mr Black added.Delivering more control and better privacy protection for consumers to share and receive verifiedpersonal identity information online, the participation of some of Australia’s largest banks inConnectID would provide the scale and trust needed to drive widespread consumer and businessadoption.CBA’s General Manager, Open Data, Katherine Sleeth said: “We are pleased to help ourcustomers have more control of their data and privacy, enabling them to share their personalinformation with approved merchants, backed by the security of the CommBank app. The quickonline process will save customers time and help keep them safe online.”NAB Chief Digital, Data and Analytics Officer, Angela Mentis, said the bank was proud to play anintegral role in bringing digital identity to the Australian market, with customer empowerment top ofmind for the bank throughout the process.“NAB’s priority in helping bring digital identity to life has been to empower customers with choice -to verify their identity how and when they want, whilst ensuring privacy and personal data isprotected,” Ms Mentis said.“We think that digital identity will be the most crucial enabler of safe and secure interactions in ourfuture economy, and are certain that customers can have trust in this solution.”The ConnectID team is collaboratively working with governments, businesses, online merchants,banks and other identity providers with a view to building identity into our national paymentsinfrastructure, as well as other commercial applications for all Australians and Australianbusinesses.ConnectID is taking an inclusive, economy-wide approach, working with organisations from sectorssuch as banking, telecom, online retail, government, insurance, utilities, transportation, real estate,not-for-profit and the start-up and fintech community.Australian Payments Plus’ ConnectID facilitates an ‘exchange’ between identity providers,organisations that securely hold identity data on behalf of their customers, and merchants orgovernment departments that need to verify who they are dealing with or receive identityinformation that they can trust. AP+ is uniquely placed to offer this service, particularly forinteractions requiring a payment.While ConnectID securely facilitates the identity verification or data exchange, it does not see orstore the identity data. Identity service providers store consumer identities and take responsibilityfor providing this secure information only under the consent of the customer.As interoperability is key to the ConnectID solution, it is designed to complement identity andcredential-related services provided by government and work within the Federal Government’sTrusted Digital Identity Framework (TDIF) financial industry privacy and security frameworks, aswell as emerging international standards in distributed digital identity credentials.
Media inquiries:Alana Morton, Australian Payments Plus, 0415534699 amorton@eftposaustralia.com.auAbout Australian Payments PlusAustralian Payments Plus is the new organisation that brings together Australia’s three domestic payment organisations, BPAY Group,eftpos and NPP Australia into one entity. Australian Payments Plus which strives to deliver world-leading innovation, excellence indelivery, and customer experiences that delight and inspire us to build a better, stronger and more prosperous Australia.The consolidation of Australia’s domestic payments organisations was authorised by the ACCC on 9 September 2021, subject toundertakings, with the transaction completed in early 2022. AP+ shareholders include Adyen Australia Pty Limited, ANZ, ASL, Bank ofQueensland Limited, Bendigo and Adelaide Bank Limited, CBA, Citigroup Pty Limited, Coles Group Limited, Cuscal Limited, EFTEX PtyLimited, First Data Network Australia Limited trading as Fiserv, HSBC Bank Australia Limited, ING Bank (Australia) Limited, IndueLimited, Macquarie Bank Limited, NAB, PayPal, Suncorp Metway Limited, Tyro Payments Limited, WBC, Windcave Pty Limited, WiseAustralia Pty Limited, Woolworths Group Limited and WorldPay.See http://www.auspayplus.com.au for more information.