Identity News Digest – May 31, 2024

Welcome to FindBiometrics’ digest of identity industry news. Here’s what you need to know about the world of digital identity and biometrics today:

Zwipe Extends European Reach with Plasticard, Ermes Srl Agreements

Plasticard – ZFT, a manufacturer of plastic cards, smart cards, and ID media, has partnered with Zwipe to distribute biometric access cards in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Zwipe Access, which uses fingerprint recognition for two-factor authentication, ensures that biometric data never leaves the card, enhancing data privacy. This follows a separate partnership with Ermes Srl, an identification and security solutions provider in Italy, which has placed an initial order for Zwipe Demo Kits to demonstrate the technology to potential users.

No Clear Winner in NIST Age Estimation Assessment

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has published its first report in a decade on the performance of age estimation algorithms, finding no clear standout among the six evaluated. The study, titled “Face Analysis Technology Evaluation: Age Estimation and Verification (NIST IR 8525),” revealed varied performance, with all algorithms having room for improvement. Using approximately 11.5 million photos from diverse databases, NIST found that accuracy was affected by image quality, gender, region of birth, and age, with error rates remaining higher for female faces. NIST plans to update the evaluation results every four to six weeks, anticipating improvements as AI and biometric technologies advance.

Prism Report Finds $40B Opportunity for Biometrics in Financial Services

Acuity Market Intelligence’s inaugural “Biometric Digital Identity Financial Services Prism Report” reveals a significant growth potential for biometric technology within the financial services sector. Projected global revenues for biometric digital identity solutions are expected to reach over $40 billion by 2028, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 41.2 percent. North America is set to lead in revenue, increasing from $1,181 million in 2024 to $5,365 million in 2028, while the Asia-Pacific region will dominate transaction volumes. The report highlights the financial sector’s motivation to adopt biometric technologies for enhanced efficiency, fraud protection, and regulatory compliance, despite challenges such as cybersecurity threats and evolving customer expectations.

Animo Joins Germany’s Phase-One EU Digital ID Project

Animo has been selected by the German Federal Agency for Disruptive Innovation (SPRIND) as one of six teams to develop a prototype for the EU Digital Identity Wallet. The Dutch company will leverage its expertise in open-source technology and digital identity applications to create a mobile wallet capable of securely handling Personal Identity Documents (PID) in SD-JWT VC and mDL formats, bound to hardware keys in mobile devices. The open-source project aims to integrate with Germany’s eID system using the Credo framework. Animo will collaborate with Sphereon.com, AUTHADA GmbH, Governikus, Ubique Innovation, and TICE Software, focusing on building a trustworthy, user-friendly, and universally applicable digital identity wallet for users in Germany.

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May 31, 2024 — by Tony Bitzionis and Alex Perala