MyBank wants a pan-European identity verification service

E-authorization firm MyBank is calling PSPs, service providers and other financial companies to join a pilot for its identity verification service. It wants to launch a pan-European service that protects the consumer’s privacy while enabling business to verify or request information regarding the identity of their counterparties in any online transaction.

MyBank, an e-authorization solution that enables safe online payments through the consumer’s own online banking portal or app, announced the pilot project in a press release. The pilot will start in mid-November and will run until February next year.

MyBank Identity Verification
The solution, which is open to all authorized PSPs in the Single Euro Payments Area, now wants to move further into identity verification and is looking to develop a service that protect the consumer’s privacy while enabling business to verify the identity of their counterparties. The new initiative, called MyBank Identity Verification, will support services such as age verification, customer due diligence, contract agreement, registration or C2C sign-up. “Consumers will be able to protect their privacy by controlling exactly what information is sent to third parties as the transmission of all identity-related information must by explicitly authorized by consumers via their secure online banking platform”, the company explains.

According to Elaine Oldhoff, policy advisor for Ecommerce Europe, electronic identity services are fragmented across Europe. She thinks MyBank is responding to a tangible market need for a pan-European solution with this initiative. “As we announced last year in our paper, online merchants across Europe need online identity solutions. Thanks to the secure and trusted information that can be requested from consumers via the online banking account, MyBank Identity Verification is a significant step in the right direction for merchants across Europe”, she states.

Interested parties can can register directly for the pilot.

About MyBank
MyBank is owned by Preta, a subsidiary of EBA Clearing, the bank-owned provider of pan-European payment infrastructure solutions which was founded by 52 major European and international banks. In March 2013, EBA Clearing launched MyBank, which is geared at facilitating the growth of ecommerce across Europe.