AP+ brings ConnectID to secure digital identity network for Australia

By Gloria Mathias

Australian Payments Plus (AP+) has announced that ConnectID, its digital identity solution, is now available to protect Australians from fraud and identity theft.

AP+ developed ConnectID to enable people to securely verify their identity with third parties without having to repeatedly share any unnecessary data about themselves. Instead of providing proof of identity documents, consumers can now ask a participating business to verify their information using organisations they already trust with their data, like their bank.

ConnectID is now available to Commonwealth Bank (CBA) and National Australia Bank (NAB) customers in a few use cases. It also has strong industry support from other strategic partners, including Westpac and ANZ.

With ConnectID, businesses can offer their customers a simple and secure verification process without the need to over-collect and store customers’ personal information. Businesses across industry sectors will offer ConnectID as a means of safely verifying the identity of their customers. These include Referoo, Credenxia, ServiceSeeking, OnePassport, RentBetter, Shaype and more.

ConnectID Managing Director, Andrew Black said, “This new service will help customers reduce oversharing their data, giving them greater control over what data is being shared and used and choice over which organisations they trust to store their personal information. And from a business perspective, the ability to collect only what is required means they’re able to comply with legislation and reduce their risk profile.”

CBA’s General Manager, Open Data, Katherine Sleeth said, “Commonwealth Bank is supportive of ConnectID which will simplify customer identification and authentication needs for both businesses and consumers across the economy. It will help keep consumers’ data safer online with strong security and privacy controls.”

Lynn Kraus, CEO of AP+ said, “At AP+, we see ConnectID playing an important role in building trust in our digital economy. We’re partnering with proven guardians of identity documentation, such as the major banks, to deliver simple and safe identity verification. We’re keen to see ConnectID play a role in an Australian digital identity framework that brings together both the government and non-government sectors in a world-leading solution to help protect people’s data.”