Verimi wants to simplify online use of ID cards: ID card data can now be saved in the iOS app, as the identity platform has now announced. They are read in via the NFC interface of the iPhone, for which an identity card with online function (“eID”) and the PIN are required. The data should be stored “securely encrypted” locally on the device. For users of older iPhones, it is offered to store the personal data in a video legitimation.

Banks, insurance companies, online Administration As a result, the majority of smartphone users in Germany should now be technically able to use their ID cards online. The Verimi app can then be used to carry out online administrative processes as well as to use offers from the private sector, for example to open a bank account, as the provider explains.

The Verimi shareholders include the Allianz Insurance Group, Axel Springer Verlag, Daimler, Deutsche Bank, Deutsche Telekom, Bundesdruckerei and Lufthansa. Together with the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied and Integrated Security (AISEC), a “Germany ID” is currently being developed which is to be used as an overarching standard for secure digital identities.

Easier to use By storing the ID card on the iPhone, it is no longer necessary to hold the document near the device for each process and to enter your PIN every time, explains the spokesman for the management. The stored data could be released via fingerprint (Touch ID) or face recognition (Face ID).

The Federal Government’s AusweisApp2 has only been available for iOS devices for over a year. The reason for the waiting time was Apple’s limitation of the NFC interface in iPhones, which was originally only used for the Apple Pay payment service. Only from iOS 13 did the iPhone group open the radio interface further. The eID function of the identity card in credit card format has been generally activated since spring 2017. The user usually receives the required PIN from the identity card authority.

(lbe)