We have been providing BankID – secure, accessible e-ID – at a high level of expertise in terms of security and technology for 20 years.
Secure and accessible digital identification
BankID has revolutionised everyday life and has won the hearts of Swedes. The latest Novus survey shows that 96 per cent of Swedes have a high level of confidence in our service.
Security is our highest priority and we are regularly inspected by security experts as well as auditors and public authorities. We have never suffered a breach in the 20 years we have been providing the service and the service has been available 99.99 per cent of the time in the past year.
Four trust levels for e-IDs
BankID is certified according to the Swedish e-ID quality mark at trust level three and has been inspected and approved according to the EU framework for e-identification, the eIDAS Regulation, with the trust level of “substantial”. The Swedish trust framework consists of trust levels one to four.
No mobile e-ID at trust level 4
There are requirements for level four that a mobile solution is unable to meet. Those requirements include the following:
A physical bearer of the e-ID and a part that is used to activate the security module. This could be a card and a security box, for example.
Identification of the user and issue of e-ID may not take place remotely. A personal visit is required. The first time and upon each renewal.
You can read more about the various trust levels at DIGG (In Swedish)
User-friendliness is important
Besides security, user-friendliness is also important to us. Fast, secure digital identification lays the foundation for the digital society. The simplicity of BankID is highly appreciated and use of e-IDs is significantly higher in Sweden than in countries issuing at level four. The most popular is, specifically, Mobile BankID.
BankID – a response to a request by the Government
Almost 20 years ago, the Government entrusted the banks with the task of developing a national e-ID system. The banks were used to collaborating on infrastructure such as Bankgiro and ATMs and had made a great deal of progress with the development of the internet banks. The banks identify their customers by means of original documents, which is an important aspect of the secure issue of a BankID.
For passports and national ID cards, the Government deals with both identification by means of original documents and issue. It is a natural development for the Government to also deal with these aspects for e-IDs and we welcome the proposal from the Government’s inquiry relating to ID cards (SOU 2019: 14) which proposes precisely that. A Government e-ID would be a good addition and could be used by e-ID issuers when issuing on the Swedish market. We consider the proposal put forward by the inquiry that only ID documents issued by the police should be used in society to be a matter of urgency. This is important to the banks and BankID, as the Government has been informed several times, including in our consultation response.
Securing your identity and privacy
The enormous accessibility, simplicity of use and high level of security of BankID will continue to be our guiding stars in the future. And we will be ready when the opportunity to issue BankID to even more people arises. We are working with all users, companies and public authorities to create a more equal, accessible society.
