UN Proposes Digital ID System Tied to Bank Accounts and Mobile Payment Platforms

The United Nations has put forward a proposal for a universal digital identification system that can be linked to individuals’ bank accounts and payment applications.

The new policy agenda from UN Secretary General António Guterres outlines an identification network that aims to streamline the process of verifying people’s identities on a worldwide basis by digitizing it.

The proposal is outlined in a section dedicated to “global digital cooperation and sustainable development goals.”

“Digital IDs linked with bank or mobile money accounts can improve the delivery of social protection coverage and serve to better reach eligible beneficiaries.

Digital technologies may help to reduce leakage, errors, and costs in the design of social protection programmes.”

The proposal follows a move by the World Economic Forum to explore systems that would track and verify human identities using biometrics.

The Forum has partnered with Fingerprint Cards, a Swedish biometrics company, to investigate blockchain-powered digital ID platforms that prioritize privacy as their top concern.

The UN acknowledges that despite the swift development of technology, there is still a need for more effort to ensure equal access to the digital revolution and to combat the increasing wealth disparity.

“Digital technology has led to massive gains in productivity and value, but these benefits are not resulting in shared prosperity.”

The notes continued and stated the following:

“The wealth of those in the top 1% is growing exponentially: between 1995 and 2021, they accounted for 38% of the increase in global wealth, while the bottom 50% accounted for only 2%.”

Mastercard, a leading payments processing company, is taking a step forward in the world of digital assets by filing a trademark application for several crypto blockchain tools.

The application, submitted to the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, indicates that Mastercard aims to develop software for crypto transactions and establish connections between virtual asset service providers.