UK and Swedish firms join forces to boost online ID solutions
2023-01-12
A revolutionary new approach to online verification is the aim of a new company which has been set up by Cumbria-based tech firm SMS Speedway in partnership with a Swedish company with expertise in biometric identification.
Knowingme ID app will allow people to create online passports that will verify the identities of people in seconds. It is an approach that is gaining traction in the UK and is already common in Europe where people need to confirm their identity for Government websites and online purchases multiple times a day.
SMS Speedway has linked up with Svipe which has its headquarters in Stockholm and operates in over 140 countries, providing technology that allows people to identify themselves using biometric passports or ID cards through cryptographic verification.
Now the two firms have entered into a formal partnership - to set up a new company, Knowingme ID - which will start with a UK launch of app technology that allows people to prove their identity online or through an app while protecting their personal data.
Knowingme ID will digitize online transactions that normally require documentation such as passports and will address the increasing focus of regulators on finding better ways to protect citizens online.
It will add to Svipe’s expertise in app delivery of this technology with other services such as QR Codes and website logins that don’t require users to type in a username and password. And it will build on SMS Speedway’s services for banks and financial institutions and areas where higher security is required such as tenancies, conveyancing, council work, health services and schools.
SMS Speedway CEO Bradley Kieser said: “I am absolutely delighted to have Svipe on board as I have huge respect for their people and their tech. They are fantastically innovative.
“This partnership will deliver a good, strong ID based component for verifying people which is what we need. We have extended Svipe’s ideas with secure messaging, RapidID and other key innovations.
“It fits in with our long-term strategy and product goals. It all comes down to making it easier for Speedway’s customers to do business with their customers. They gain operational efficiency, conduct business smoothly and automatically and do more business with the same number of staff. It can all be done at the customer’s convenience without paperwork at hand. It’s done on the customer’s terms and is a seamless way to communicate.”
SMS Speedway, which operates in 124 countries, says it has a raft of products that will be announced on the back of this partnership in the tech media and on its social media channels. Progress in the UK will be quickly followed by rollouts in Europe and globally.
Jeremy Saal, head of sales at Svipe, described the formation of Knowingme ID as a ‘no brainer’, adding: “Our two companies are forming this new company to make identity verification easier, simpler and cheaper.
“We can already see in the UK that Ofcom and the Government are increasingly concerned about protecting citizens online and this will allow people to confirm identities in a few seconds.”
“We both see an increasing demand for a digital framework for identity verification that people can trust with their data. This might be tenancy agreements, for example, where people need to verify the identity of an applicant which a digitised solution like this should be able to do without a face to face meeting.
“Together with Speedway we will have a frictionless solution that will have huge potential in a variety of areas such as students sitting online exams, banking and the property markets,” he said.
