TreasuryDirect Begins ID.me Login Transition

TreasuryDirect has begun allowing customers to sign in with ID.me and will make the external digital identity service its only online login method after October 28.

The U.S. Treasury platform, which individuals use to buy and manage federal securities, made ID.me access available on September 13. Customers can continue using their existing TreasuryDirect credentials during the transition, but linking an account to ID.me immediately retires the former account number, password, security image and one-time passcode process.

A customer who already has an ID.me Wallet may be able to link it directly, although TreasuryDirect says additional verification can be required to meet the agency’s security level. New users need a Social Security number and a valid government-issued photo ID. The automated process can ask the user to photograph the identity document and take a selfie or video selfie on a mobile phone.

ID.me provides a live-video Trusted Referee option when automated verification fails. Once identity proofing is complete, customers sign in with their ID.me email address and password and enter a security code delivered through their chosen multifactor authentication method.

The change makes TreasuryDirect another federal service to use a reusable private-sector identity credential. ID.me has also been integrating its identity checks into state benefits administration, while federal agencies continue to expand the government-operated Login.gov service.

A draft Office of Management and Budget policy circulated in August would make Login.gov the default sign-on option for federal public-facing websites, subject to exceptions. TreasuryDirect’s adoption of ID.me reflects the mixed public-and-private identity infrastructure currently used across government services.

Customers who do not create an ID.me login can still use TreasuryDirect’s paper forms after the cutoff. They will not be able to purchase securities online, schedule reinvestments or retrieve tax forms through an online account. TreasuryDirect says the ID.me connection is a one-time identity-proofing step and does not give ID.me access to the customer’s Treasury securities account.

Customers do not repeat document or selfie verification at every login. After the account is linked, routine access uses the ID.me credentials and multifactor authentication method established during enrollment.

Sources: TreasuryDirect, ID.me

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By the ID Tech Editorial Team