Financial Inclusion Challenge

Digital Bank ID

Team Leader

Kimmo Koivisto

Our Organization

Digizen

What is the name of your solution?

Digital Bank ID

Provide a one-line summary of your solution.

Government approved digital identification that allows people who lack documentation to open a bank account and to access financial services

Film your elevator pitch.

What specific problem are you solving?

The lack of formal ID is one of the biggest barriers for financial inclusion. Over 1.8 billion adults are still unbanked in the world, while in Papua New Guinea where Digizen is working over 85% of the population are without identification leaving them excluded from financial and social services.

For individuals and MSME without ID and bank account investments and transfer payments are very challenging and often impossible.

Assessing credit-worthiness is difficult for individuals who can't be reliably identified.

Digizen's government approved Digital Bank ID substantially reduces frictions to scale safe personal identification methods for individuals who have been previously kept out of the formal financial system due to a lack of formal identification.

What is your solution?

Digizen's Digital Bank ID is a Smart Card based identity document that can be issued in remote villages without internet connectivity. Digizen's Digital Bank ID Card has been approved by the Bank of Papua New Guinea to open a bank account and to authenticate banking transactions.

Digizen re-designed the process of getting a formal ID: with traditional ID systems the responsibility of acquiring documentary evidence of one's identity lies within the individual, which is a very difficult task for people in rural areas who lack documentation and often have challenges with reading and writing. With Digizen, the evidence about individuals identity is acquired by trained agents who visit rural villages to register people and verify their details through a regulated process. Digizen's Digital Bank ID is fully digital and paperless and that makes it possible to issue Digital Bank ID cards even in remote villages without electricity and internet.

Here is a video showing how people are issued Digital Bank ID cards:

Who does your solution serve, and in what ways will the solution impact their lives?

Digizen is currently working with rural villagers in East-Sepik province in Papua New Guinea (PNG). These villagers are unable to access banking services due to lack of identification, which is lacking from 85% of the population in PNG.

The lack of bank account means these people are unable to put their money into a safe place, but they need to hide the money in their home or carry in their bag. Both are risky as theft and violent robbery is common in the area. Women are in even more vulnerable position as there is a strong social pressure from their husband, brothers and other men in the community to give money. This means it is difficult and not motivating for people to save money for their children's school fees, to improve their farming and for a bad day.

With Digizen's Digital Bank ID, agents from a partner bank comes to visit the village to register people and to open bank accounts so they can put their money into a safe place, hidden from thieves and demands of the family members. Digizen's Digital Bank ID has also a biometric component, which means people can exists in the system only ones reducing the risk of these customers to the bank and along with transaction history allowing the banks to offer additional financial services such as loans and insurances.

Digizen's Digital Bank ID helps to stabilize personal economies and provides opportunities to get away from poverty.

How are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?

Digizen's team has made four research and testing missions to Papua New Guinea to thoroughly understand the needs of the communities the Digital Bank ID is designed for. Digizen has partnered with two Microfinance Institutions MiBank and Women's Microbank who are the executing agencies providing the service on the local community level.

Digizen has gone through the Regulatory Sandbox of the Bank of Papua New Guinea and is the first solution that has graduated from the Sandbox. The Regulatory Sandbox process required proximity and thorough understanding of the needs of the local communities, which was demonstrated by successfully achieving all targets set by the Regulatory Sandbox of the Bank of Papua New Guinea.

Which dimension of the Challenge does your solution most closely address?

Create and/or reduce frictions to scale safe personal identification methods for individuals who have been kept out of the formal financial system due to a lack of formal identification

In what city, town, or region is your solution team headquartered?

Helsinki

In what country is your solution team headquartered?

Finland

What is your solution’s stage of development?

Pilot: An organization testing a product, service, or business model with a small number of users

How many people does your solution currently serve?

2500 people have been issued a Digital Bank ID, which they have used to open a bank account

Why are you applying to Solve?

Identification that meets bank's customer due diligence requirements is regulated, which is a big entry barrier for startups like Digizen. Digizen has proven it's Digital Bank ID solution through the Regulatory Sandbox of the Bank of Papua New Guinea, which would not have been possible without the support of our partners and advisors. We are now looking to expand to new markets and we are applying to Solve to find advisors and potential partners who can support getting the Digizens' Digital Bank ID approved in other countries to drive financial inclusion.