New digital ID delayed to provide more ‘in-person’ support

Monday 16 August 2021

The launch of a new digital ID currently being developed by Jersey Post has been delayed to allow for “additional capabilities” providing more in-person support to be designed.

The new system, was originally due to be launched by the end of June, but the Government has now confirmed it won’t be available before the end of August.

This means, islanders will not be able to use the new digital ID to file their taxes online before the deadline on 31 August.

Jersey Post has been working on the project, which was presented as “an alternative to Yoti”, with the support of Vaiie, a specialist Channel Island provider of digital regulatory technology which is part of the Jersey Post group.

The new service will be available on a laptop, desktop or iPad, whereas Yoti was only available through a smartphone app.

The Government said that following “rigorous testing” of the digital ID software, they had identified the need to develop in-person support to supplement the online system.

“During this process, we realised that to meet the needs for our target audience and ensure they could get a digital ID, we’d have to provide a higher level of in-person support than had originally been anticipated,” a spokesperson said. “As a consequence, we’ve asked Jersey Post (Vaiie) to develop additional capabilities for us, however these won’t be ready to support online tax filing this year.”

Islanders will not have to set up the new digital ID solution as they’ll be able to continue to use their existing Yoti account if they wish to.

Yoti was selected as the Government’s platform for allowing islanders to prove who they are when accessing government services in 2018.

The free app aimed to replace the need to carry around multiple ID documents by securely storing all user information in one place, protected by both facial recognition and a pincode. 

Last year, it enabled islanders to complete their tax return online for the first time.