What do you want for Digital ID over the next 5–10 years?
With the Government’s announcement of a national Digital ID framework, we’re entering a new phase in the development of digital verification infrastructure – one that could unlock transformative innovation across the UK economy. It’s an opportunity to consider what this decision could mean in a decade’s time.
Digital ID is the crucial first step in building the infrastructure that will support the Smart Data schemes of the future. It has the potential to simplify personal and professional life by making everyday processes faster, more secure and more tailored to individual needs.
We’ve already seen what’s possible with Open Banking, which now benefits over 15 million UK citizens. By making the next generation of Smart Data schemes more secure and trustworthy, Digital ID will extend that success to new use cases for millions of consumers.
It will also pave the way for Digital Company ID, a tool that could reshape how businesses operate, transact and protect themselves from fraud.
Convenience, safety and trust
For everyday consumers, Digital ID typically works through a credential issued by a trusted provider - for example, an app or account linked to verified records. With the holder’s consent, that credential can selectively and cryptographically share assertions — age, address, professional licence, eligibility for a service — so interactions that once required paper, email or other lengthy checks happen instantly, with stronger protections against fraud and unnecessary data exposure.
Over the next five years, the priority must be building a resilient, interoperable and trusted foundation. In practical terms that means short-term reductions in friction — faster housing checks, simpler patient access to services, quicker energy switching — while deliberately designing the system so it supports broader use cases later.
The infrastructure’s real value is not individual transactions but the trusted rails it creates: verifiable credentials, consented data flows, auditable logs and common standards that permit safe, cross-sector reuse.
A consumer example illustrates the point. Applying for a rental property often means chasing documents and waiting days for verification. With Digital ID, applicants could instantly and securely share the relevant data a landlord needs to enable faster decision-making - reducing stress, cutting costs and lowering fraud risk.
Other Digital ID applications – in AI and for businesses
In addition to its role as a foundation for Smart Data, the ability to verify identity in online transactions is the cornerstone for delivering the personalised, AI-enabled services of the future. As artificial intelligence matures from experimental to mainstream, trust will become its critical currency. A secure Digital ID ecosystem provides exactly that — a way for individuals to interact with AI systems on their own terms, with confidence that their data is being used ethically.
Looking forward, we can envisage a world where AI systems do not need to guess who you are or what you need; instead, they can draw upon your verified Digital ID — with your consent and within a trusted framework — to understand your circumstances and build a relationship with your digital self. This goes well beyond static identity attributes. Digital IDs will increasingly contain behavioural and contextual data, enabling AI to tailor services with unprecedented precision.
This vision points to a future where digital identity is not just about authentication, but about enabling deeper, more valuable interactions between individuals, organisations and intelligent systems. The convergence of Digital ID and AI has the potential to redefine how trust is built in a digital society, unlocking personalised healthcare, adaptive financial services and proactive public service delivery. The challenge — and opportunity — is to ensure this evolution is underpinned by robust safeguards and a commitment to placing the individual firmly in control of their digital self.
For businesses, meanwhile, Digital Company ID is the next step in building a more secure and efficient economy. In a clear signal of demand, recent CFIT research shows that 85% of UK SMEs would even pay for the service. Why? Because the benefits go far beyond convenience. Digital Company ID could help mitigate the £6.8bn annual cost of fraud to the UK economy by enabling secure, unified data sharing that disrupts fraud networks and closes exploitable gaps. It also promises to reduce regulatory and administrative burdens, with financial institutions projected to save up to £1.7bn annually in compliance costs.
The importance of public-private partnership
While the passage of the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025 provides the legal foundation to scale the related technologies of Digital ID and Smart Data, legislative obligation and regulatory mandate alone will not suffice.
To realise the full potential of Digital ID legal requirement and commercial opportunity must operate in lockstep. Success will depend on close collaboration between government, regulators and industry to develop models that are viable, scalable and trusted by users.
There are many examples of products created by legislative fiat, where take-up is minimal and their potential is wasted. Conversely, CFIT’s coalition work has shown how public-private partnership can accelerate progress by sharing expertise and ensuring that solutions meet real-world needs.
Longer-term: unlocking new markets and innovation
Once the infrastructure is in place, trust is embedded and adoption is rising, we can begin to unlock the real innovation at the heart of digital identity.
Digital ID isn’t just for streamlining today’s processes. It can unlock entirely new markets. Take online pharmaceutical sales. Major platforms like Amazon currently avoid prescription drugs due to the complexity of verifying licences and regulatory compliance. With Digital ID, credentials and permissions could be securely stored, instantly verified and shared with consent. What’s currently completely unworkable becomes a feasible, regulated marketplace, expanding access while maintaining rigorous safeguards.
This is just one example. The same principle applies across sectors, from education and employment to insurance and public services. The same also applies for businesses, with CFIT currently leading a working group to identify additional, as-yet-unimagined use cases for Digital Company ID.
Digital ID is the beginning of a new type of digital infrastructure that enables the provision of better, more personalised and more secure services, for individuals and businesses alike. The next 5–10 years will be about turning that vision into reality – step by step, use case by use case and partnership by partnership.
Author
leon Ifayemi
Director of Coalitions and Research, CFIT
Digital Identity programme activities
Digital identities will provide a gateway for citizens and SMEs into the digital economy. techUK members demonstrate the benefits of digital identity to emerging markets, raise their profile as thought leaders, influence policy outcomes, and strengthen their relationships with potential clients and decision-makers. Visit the programme page here.
techUK's Digital ID Summit 2025
Join us on 13 October 2025 for techUK’s Digital ID Summit — a key event bringing together industry leaders, policymakers, and innovators to shape the future of digital identity in the UK. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of the conversation driving trust, security, and innovation.
Our members develop strong networks, build meaningful partnerships and grow their businesses as we all work together to create a thriving environment where industry, government and stakeholders come together to realise the positive outcomes tech can deliver.
Sue leads techUK's Technology and Innovation work.
This includes work programmes on cloud, data protection, data analytics, AI, digital ethics, Digital Identity and Internet of Things as well as emerging and transformative technologies and innovation policy.
In 2025, Sue was honoured with an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to the Technology Industry in the New Year Honours List.
She has been recognised as one of the most influential people in UK tech by Computer Weekly's UKtech50 Longlist and in 2021 was inducted into the Computer Weekly Most Influential Women in UK Tech Hall of Fame.
A key influencer in driving forward the data agenda in the UK, Sue was co-chair of the UK government's National Data Strategy Forum until July 2024. As well as being recognised in the UK's Big Data 100 and the Global Top 100 Data Visionaries for 2020 Sue has also been shortlisted for the Milton Keynes Women Leaders Awards and was a judge for the Loebner Prize in AI. In addition to being a regular industry speaker on issues including AI ethics, data protection and cyber security, Sue was recently a judge for the UK Tech 50 and is a regular judge of the annual UK Cloud Awards.
Prior to joining techUK in January 2015 Sue was responsible for Symantec's Government Relations in the UK and Ireland. She has spoken at events including the UK-China Internet Forum in Beijing, UN IGF and European RSA on issues ranging from data usage and privacy, cloud computing and online child safety. Before joining Symantec, Sue was senior policy advisor at the Confederation of British Industry (CBI). Sue has an BA degree on History and American Studies from Leeds University and a Masters Degree on International Relations and Diplomacy from the University of Birmingham. Sue is a keen sportswoman and in 2016 achieved a lifelong ambition to swim the English Channel.
Associate Director - Technology and Innovation, techUK
Laura Foster
Associate Director - Technology and Innovation, techUK
Laura is techUK’s Associate Director for Technology and Innovation.
Laura advocates for better emerging technology policy in the UK, including quantum, future of compute technologies, semiconductors, digital ID and more. Working alongside techUK members and UK Government she champions long-term, cohesive, and sustainable investment that will ensure the UK can commercialise future science and technology research. Laura leads a high-performing team at techUK, as well as publishing several reports on these topics herself, and being a regular speaker at events.
Before joining techUK, Laura worked internationally as a conference researcher and producer exploring adoption of emerging technologies. This included being part of the team at London Tech Week.
Laura has a degree in History (BA Hons) from Durham University and is a Cambridge Policy Fellow. Outside of work she loves reading, writing and supporting rugby team St. Helens, where she is from.
Elis joined techUK in December 2023 as a Programme Manager for Tech and Innovation, focusing on Semiconductors and Digital ID.
He previously worked at an advocacy group for tech startups, with a regional focus on Wales. This involved policy research on innovation, skills and access to finance.
Elis has a Degree in History, and a Masters in Politics and International Relations from the University of Winchester, with a focus on the digitalisation and gamification of armed conflicts.
