Identification systems are a core component of sustainable development policies in countries with diverse economic, demographic, and political contexts. Robust identification systems with widespread coverage can—particularly when digital—produce a wide array of advantages for governments and individuals, including facilitating access to benefits, rights, and services, and improving public administration, planning, and service delivery. In addition, preliminary evidence suggests that identification systems can provide a number of fiscal benefits for the public sector, including decreasing fraud and leakage in transfer programs, increasing administrative efficiency, improving tax collection, and providing additional sources of revenue.

The role of digital identification systems in the private sector is equally large. In order to transact with customers and provide services, many companies—including those that provide banking and financial services, mobile operators, digital commerce platforms, airlines, and more—must verify and authenticate the identities of their users at various points in the customer lifecycle. The source of validity for customer identity is often a government-provided or recognized credential, such as a national ID, passport, or other document. Where authoritative proof of identity is scarce, companies are likely to have smaller available customer pools, higher administrative overhead, and greater risks of fraud. …

Quelle / Link: Private Sector Economic Impacts from Identification Systems