Island of Jersey digital ID to be provided by Yoti, main sponsor of SBD’s National Training Event 2018

The decision was taken by the island’s governing States Assembly, known as the States of Jersey, from a shortlist of nine bidders in a procurement exercise that started in August 2017 and resulted in a preferred supplier being identified in December that year.

Since then, due diligence has been carried out on the security, technical, commercial and contractual details with Yoti. With the contract signed, Yoti is working with the government’s technical team to build their service into the State of Jersey’s technology systems.

A statement from the Chief Minister’s Department on 23 March reported that Yoti’s approach to privacy and security, and its potential for wider use beyond government services, were significant factors in the selection. Yoti is a member of the Data Protection Forum and is preparing for the new data protection legislation that is set to come into force later this year.

Assistant Minister, Deputy Scott Wickenden, said: “One of the reasons we’ve chosen Yoti is that its verification system can be used by many other organisations. Yoti can verify identity, and therefore age, so this means that a wide range of industries – from financial services to hospitality – can use it to prove the identity of their customers.

“We have already established a consistent set of security standards for all IT systems used by the States of Jersey. We have set up one.gov.je as a central platform for new personal digital services as they come online, from checking social security contributions to accessing health records. Now that we have selected a digital ID provider, we can build more online services for Islanders.”

The States of Jersey’s Chief Executive, Charlie Parker, said: “This important piece of technology is fundamental to restructuring our public services and providing integrated, online services to Islanders. We have established one set of standards for all our online services and now we have a digital ID system that allows Islanders to interact with government on a confidential, secure basis. This is a vital step in modernising the States of Jersey, and in developing a more effective, efficient and responsive public sector, with outstanding services at its core.”

The States of Jersey Police is keen to use Yoti to help them prevent under-age drinking and to support businesses in protecting minors. One of the first applications of this technology is likely to be to verify the age of people entering nightclubs. Individuals will be able to leave valuable ID documents at home and prove their age with their phone to get into nightclubs and attend events like festivals.

Yoti uses advanced hybrid encryption to secure personal details, and the private keys to access personal details belonging to each individual user, which only they can access. This means Yoti cannot access customers’ personal data from its own servers. Unlike a government issued identity, customers own their own data and choose what they share with different organisations.

Yoti is an associate member of the UK Council for Child Internet Safety and a
member of the British Retail Consortium and the Cross Industry Fraud Prevention Service.

For further information, contact:
Cathy Keir (States of Jersey) 01534 440727, or
Holly Hunter (Hotwire - Yoti’s PR team) on 07811 237019.

Yoti
Founded in 2014, Yoti is a global technology company aiming to become the world’s trusted identity platform. The digital identity app can prove your age to licensed premises, enable you to check out more quickly with age restricted items at supermarkets and save time and money proving your identity to businesses. It brings safer connections with the people you meet online as well as enabling secure website login with your biometrics instead of remembering passwords. Yoti cannot access any personal data once an account has been created and verified.

Visit:
www.yoti.com