Let’s take a look into mobile ID, which is the talk of town all over the world.

When was the last time you used cash? Or do you know how much cash you have in your wallet right now? There wouldn’t be that many people who can answer these questions accurately nowadays, because cash is being further and further away from being our first choice of payment. The payment function of cash and credit card inside your wallet is being quickly replaced by your mobile. Then what about your ID, that takes up the other side of your wallet?

Unless you are purchasing cigarettes or alcoholic drinks at the convenient store or proving yourself to be of age at a bar, you don’t really get to use your ID much. Especially with the 2008 abolishment of the regulation that punished you for not possessing driver’s license all the time, the usage of ID has gotten much lower. A passport would be the most mandatorily demanded ID offline, at the airport immigrations. Sometimes you wonder how convenient it would be if we could make a mobile passport as well. Recently there have been active talks about mobile ID, in Korea and around the world.

How advanced is the mobile ID technology?

The mobile driver’s license app, LA Wallet, introduced by the state of Louisiana, U.S. (Photography by: LA Wallet app)

If you have your ID on mobile, what would be the advantages? The biggest ones would be preventing problems like illegal usage, falsification and forgery. Important personal information like your photo, name, social security number, address, etc. is exposed on your plastic card ID and driver’s license, etc. If a convenient store clerk that takes your ID remembers your information when you are purchasing alcoholic drinks, he/she can misuse the information. As mobile ID only exposes necessary information through personal authentication, such situations could be avoided.

As for mobile ID, you will only need your smart phone. For example, when you are renting a car, you won’t need your driver’s license but just your phone, as your will be able to take care of your identification on mobile. If it is also equipped with passport function, you won’t have to pack your passport when going to the airport, and you will be able to easily renew your passport upon expiration on mobile as well.

The possibility of mobile driver’s license has been under review since a few years ago. At the end of 2014, the state of Iowa, U.S. tested driver’s license operated with mobile app whereas the state of Delaware also undertook the same test early 2015. Since then, 10 other states including Colorado and Wyoming have carried out the test operation of mobile driver’s license.

The more expansive use of mobile driver’s license took place in the state of Louisiana in July 2018. It was with the mobile driver’s license app called ‘LA Wallet’, which was jointly developed with Louisiana state police, the Department of Public Safety and the Office of Motor Vehicles. LA Wallet can be used by downloading the app, paying $5.99 and registering your driver’s license. As of January 2019, about 77,000 people downloaded the app, and around 41,000 drivers have registered their driver’s license and are using the app.

Netherlands is developing mobile ID using the block chain technology which does not allow forging or falsification.

Netherlands is developing mobile ID using the block chain technology, Smart Contract that has no chance of allowing any forging or falsification. The block chain based digital ID that is being developed under the leadership of Netherland government can be used according to various needs. For example, it can only show information necessary to show you are of age when purchasing alcohol, or show whether you have a driver’s license when renting a car, etc. Through such selective exposure of information, it can prevent any misuse of your personal information.

Netherlands also plans to provide a model service which replaces passports with digital ID this year, with Canada. This service will process all procedure from issuing ticket to immigrations with digital ID, from Netherlands Amsterdam airport to Canada Toronto airport. If the block chain based mobile ID that Netherlands is testing at the moment will be commercialized, and other neighboring countries start to participate, EU will be able to enhance its efficiency and convenience as many countries are part of the organization.

Self-authentication service app PASS, jointly provided by the 3 major mobile telecommunication companies (Photography by PASS by KT app)

Recently Korea has been working hard to service mobile ID. It’s ‘PASS’, the self-authentication service jointly provided by the 3 major mobile telecommunication companies. Once you go through the self-authentication on PASS, you can use the QR code that comes up to confirm your driver’s license. As the shown information on screen is QR code, your personal information won’t be exposed. PASS based mobile ID will begin its service within the year, if all goes well.

Mobile ID that covers not just your student ID but also official certification

The scope of mobile ID service will be greater in the future. In July, the 3 major mobile telecommunications companies, Samsung Electronics, KEB Hana Bank, Woori Bank, and Koscom, etc., have announced that they will establish a block chain based mobile ID network. This will be a separate block chain network service, not the aforementioned PASS-based identification service. Its usage scope will be expanded to student ID, employee ID, and also official certification.

Of course, the security and safety of mobile ID should be strictly proven. But as mobile simple payment method has made its way so far without any big bleep along the way, it’s likely that the mobile ID security issue not be an issue. Let’s anticipate getting through airports with our mobile passports in near future.

Written by. Hyun Kyung-min (Connecting Lab)