OneID, a digital identification startup working with banks to verify customers, has secured a £1m investment.
Founded in 2020, OneID has developed a digital solution to replace physical ID document checks with an approach linked to users’ banking information.
The process works by users selecting OneID as their digital verification method when signing up for an online product or service. OneID then verifies their details with an associated bank account.
The method is called bank-verified digital identification, which has to some extent been adopted across Europe, notably in Sweden via BankID and Belgium through Itsme.
“As the world increasingly becomes digital-first, we aim to minimise fraud, enhance online experiences, and make the world a safer place,” said Paula Sussex, CEO of OneID.
Sussex said the investment is a “vote of confidence” in efforts to “make digital identification accessible and available to more UK citizens”.
The investment came from ACF Investors and will go towards further product development.
Tim Mills, managing partner at ACF Investors said: “OneID, with its simple, trustworthy, and effective solution to a pressing problem, could touch some 50 million UK citizens and make bank-verified digital identification the norm in the UK.”
While relatively nascent, the digital ID industry has been picking up momentum through the success of startups such as Yoti, which raised £10m from Lloyds Banking Group in March.
Fintech unicorn Checkout.com entered the growing market in July with the launch of its AI customer and staff verification product.
The method of using digital tools to replace ID recently received a major endorsement from former Prime Minister Tony Blair and former leader of the Conservative Party William Hague, who have jointly called for the UK to fully embrace the technology.
However, privacy campaigners warn that digital IDs could be exploited if exposed in a data breach, or abused by oppressive governments to track specific groups.