Post Office expands its digital identity services with new partnership

Post Office has announced the roll-out of a suite of online and in-branch products in a new partnership with digital identity company Yoti.

The network said the partnership will secure new, additional revenue for postmasters, with a pilot is set to start at around 750 post offices in July.

The rollout includes a free-to use app that will combine customers’ personal data and biometrics to create a secure, reusable ID on their phone, and in-branch services for those customers who do not have access to a smartphone or who prefer face-to-face contact when asked to confirm their identity.

The partnership will also connect Post Office customers with online businesses, by enabling companies to use Post Office and Yoti identity verification services for fraud detection, E-signatures and customer authentication services, using secure biometric face matching and liveness detection.

“Post Office is embracing new technologies and this partnership will enhance our reputation as the trusted go-to destination for identity solutions,” commented Nick Read, Post Office chief executive. “Whether it’s proving your identity on a smartphone or face-to-face with a postmaster, we will make transactions faster and simpler than ever before.”

Already the market leader for providing digital identity solutions to access government services, Post Office hopes to play key role in driving the UK’s digital transformation by combining its existing experience in identity services and extensive branch network with Yoti’s leading identity technology.

“We have an ambitious strategy to deliver a unique offer to the market that integrates digital and physical identity verification at scale benefitting both individuals and businesses,” Read said.

Robin Tombs, chief executive at Yoti, added: “Trust is critical in the emerging digital ID space and our plan has always been to partner with the Post Office, which I believe is one of the most trusted brands in the UK.”

The new in-branch services will enable those people without a smartphone, secure internet access, or photo ID to complete their identity verification at a Post Office. Those who simply prefer face-to-face transactions will also be able to have their identity verified by a postmaster in-branch.

Post Office branches already provide a number of identity transactions such as passport and driving licence renewals as well as DBS and documentation certification checks. Despite the Covid-19 related lockdown restrictions, seven million identity-related transactions were carried out at its branches last year.

The UK’s digital identity market is currently worth an estimated £2 – 4 billion per annum and growing at 5 per cent each year.

Yoti has 2 million consumer app downloads in the UK and provides identity solutions to businesses including Virgin Atlantic, NCR, the Co-Op, NSPCC and the NHS and Government of Jersey.