Major UK Banks unite to develop digital verification service

Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide Building Society, NatWest Group and Santander UK are working with UK Finance in the development of a voluntary digital verification service that could transform how consumers prove their identity online, help reduce fraud and simplifying digital transactions.

UK Banks unite to develop digital verification service

The bank-led initiative aims to allow customers to securely verify personal information directly through their banking app, enabling them to confirm details such as their identity, age or address without repeatedly uploading passports, driving licences or utility bills when accessing online services.

The project has already completed a proof-of-concept phase using synthetic data and is expected to move into a live pilot involving real users in the coming months.

Using Trusted Banking Relationships to Simplify Verification

The proposed service would build on the long-established trust relationship between banks and their customers. Rather than sharing multiple identity documents, consumers would be able to authorise their bank to confirm specific information directly with a retailer, online platform or service provider.

Each verification request would require explicit customer consent, ensuring individuals remain in full control over what information is shared, with whom, and for what purpose.

Potential applications extend well beyond financial services, including age verification for online purchases, opening new accounts, property transactions and a wide range of digital onboarding processes where identity checks are currently time-consuming and repetitive.

UK Finance and the participating institutions are working with Select ID, a certified Orchestration Service Provider under the UK’s Digital Verification Services Trust Framework, to develop the underlying technical infrastructure.

Reducing Fraud While Improving Customer Experience

The banking industry believes a shared digital verification service could address several longstanding challenges simultaneously.

By enabling organisations to rely on bank-verified credentials, the service has the potential to reduce identity fraud, synthetic identity attacks and account opening scams while improving the customer experience through faster and more streamlined verification.

For businesses, trusted digital verification could also lower operational costs associated with manual document checks and reduce friction during customer onboarding.

Importantly, the initiative remains separate from the UK Government’s own digital identity programme, although it has been designed to align with the UK’s Digital Verification Services Trust Framework and complement wider efforts to improve secure digital identity across the economy.

The Bigger Picture

Digital identity has long been regarded as one of the missing foundations of the digital economy. While payment authentication has advanced rapidly through biometrics, tokenisation and strong customer authentication, identity verification often continues to rely on repeated document uploads and manual checks.

A bank-led verification service could significantly reduce this friction by allowing consumers to reuse trusted credentials across multiple sectors while retaining control over their personal data. If successfully adopted by retailers, digital platforms and service providers, the initiative could become an important piece of the UK’s digital infrastructure, supporting faster onboarding, reducing fraud and enabling more seamless digital commerce. It also reflects a broader trend in financial services, where banks are increasingly seeking to monetise trusted data and digital identity capabilities alongside traditional payment services.