Due to slow and analogous business and bureaucratic processes based on papers, handwritten signatures, printers, scanners (and other “thieves” of time and money), the process of obtaining a public service or buying a commercial service takes 5 working days instead of 5 minutes and requires employees of public services or private companies to deal with the tedious task of rearranging paper from one pile to another, scanning, copying, etc. They waste their time on low value-added work, so for example an insurance company can process a maximum of 50 policies a day instead of 500, and opening a bank account takes a few days.
An Oxford study from 2016 showed that, with an optimal digitalization strategy (which would make economic processes more efficient and digital), US GDP could grow by as much as 2.1% with a multiplier effect, or 2.1% more every year! The EU has also recognised the enormous benefits for all of us that lie in the digitalisation of society, and the next 10 years in the EU have been declared a “digital decade”.
It is obvious that we need to digitalize the economy and public services quickly and efficiently.
ID wallet
The ID wallet is your private highly encrypted cloud space for secure storage of personal data, which you need to identify yourself in the online and real world. The first ID wallet that can be used in Hungary is the Identyum ID wallet, which enables security and controlled sharing of personal data.
Once you create your Identyum ID Wallet, your personal information is protected from potential malicious users because it is encrypted with a PIN that you define when you first use it. In addition to the PIN, it is necessary to define another additional factor that unlocks your personal data stored in the ID wallet, which can be a mobile phone number, e-mail address or facial biometrics. In case you lose your mobile phone or other device with which you created your wallet ID, you can access the data quickly and easily on a new device. In addition to the data from the user’s ID card, certificates for a legally valid electronic signature can be stored in the Identyum ID wallet. The Identyum ID Wallet is available to citizens of Hungary, Croatia and Slovenia. By using electronic identification and electronic signing, you reduce paper printing costs and save time without waiting in lines.
Connecting citizens and the state with ID wallets
The Identyum ID Wallet is compliant with the legal principles of European digital identity. Every EU citizen will soon be able to use his ID wallet in each member state for “online and offline identification, storage and exchange of information provided by governments e.g. name, surname, date of birth, nationality, for storage and exchange of the information provided by trusted private sources and for the use of information as confirmation of the right to reside, to work, or to study in a certain Member State”. The ID wallet will be used in various situations, such as opening a bank account without having to visit branch offices, proving age when accessing sensitive information or websites, remotely logging in to hotel or any tourist accommodation, using public services, etc. The ID wallet thus opens a direct and secure channel of communication between citizens and service providers (either public or commercial), while reducing administration such as filing a tax refund or enrolling in any college.
Because of all these benefits of the EU ID wallet, waiting in lines will soon be a thing of the past, and outdated, manual and inefficient processes will be transformed into digitalized, automated, citizen-friendly and modern 21st century lifestyle.
You can start using the Identyum NOW web portal for electronically and legally valid signing today.
Create your Identyum ID wallet here.
The project is funded by the Interreg V-A Hungary-Croatia Cooperation Programme 2014-2020, Beneficiary Light Grant Scheme (B Light). The content of this article is the sole responsibility of Identity Consortium d.o.o. and can under no circumstances be regarded as reflecting the position of the European Union and/or the Managing Authority.