Virtual identity service starting to gain ground

RealMe, the Government’s digital identity proof service, is beginning to win over business.

The going has been slow. Although the service was launched in 2013, only 170,000 people have taken advantage of it. However, sign-ups are now running at 14,000-15,000 a month, says RealMe’s business development manager, David Roberts.

RealMe is a way to provide proof of identity to businesses and government departments without the need for physical documents such as a passport, driving licence, and utility bill with an address.

Businesses such as banks should be able to open accounts and provide loans to customers who can sign into RealMe to prove who they are, thus avoiding the need to ever go near a branch.

But despite the promise, businesses have not embraced it. Only two banks, Westpac and BNZ are on the list of those currently accepting RealMe virtual IDs.

RealMe is operated by NZ Post, and is based in sister company Kiwibank’s offices. Despite that, Kiwibank does not accept RealMe yet, though spokesman Bruce Thompson says: ‘‘It is a question of time. We are involved in a major technology upgrade and aligning our systems with RealMe is on the agenda, but not achievable quite yet.’’

The rise of RealMe can’t come too soon for one business. William Cairns, executive director of mortgage lender and deposit-taker General Finance, says young people in particular struggled to provide a utility bill with an address.

‘‘In many cases they may be moving flats reasonably often and many pay all their bills via the internet. Similar, there are older investors who, for various reasons, may not have a passport or even a driver’s licence.’’