For those who missed it, here’s a summary of the conversation from our latest Virtual Coffee Chat.
Our March Virtual Coffee Chat brought together members from across banking, credit, central banking, education, and biometrics for a wide-ranging conversation about where digital identity meets real-world friction, from AML compliance to facial recognition testing.
From Cash to Credentials: The Cost of Compliance Duplication
New Zealand’s declining cash infrastructure set the scene for a broader discussion about the urgent need for trusted, reusable digital identity – not just for convenience, but for inclusion. The group reflected on how duplicated AML verification work across institutions contributes to some of the highest banking compliance costs in the world. Recent changes to the AML Act offer some flexibility for standard and low-risk customers, but trust between institutions, and clarity on the regulator’s role, remains a key challenge to unlocking a shared verification model.
Reusable Credentials and Bank Onboarding
The group explored how a reusable credentials model could sit at the heart of a simpler, safer onboarding experience, allowing people and businesses to verify once and share as needed, without oversharing. If banks could securely and compliantly share verified identity information, the burden on customers could be significantly reduced. This is a space the DINZ community is actively working to shape.
The Trusted Credential Adoption Group: Six Use Cases to Watch
The Trusted Credential Adoption Group (TCA Group) shared an update on its progress across six priority use cases for credential adoption in Aotearoa, including bank account opening, KYC (Know Your Customer), and lost phone / device recovery verification. The group is targeting a May deadline for market communications. Anyone interested in contributing or observing is welcome – reach out to the DINZ team to find out more.
Infrastructure First: A Broader Conversation
The group grappled with an important provocation: are we building credentials on top of shaky foundations? The discussion highlighted the need for accurate underlying data and identity systems designed to serve the broad population – including New Zealand’s significant transient population, whose needs are currently underserved. There was appetite for a more integrated approach connecting health, education, social services, and finance through common identity infrastructure, rather than compliance-driven silos.
Biometrics and the Kiwi Faces Project
New Zealand’s balanced privacy framework was highlighted as a genuine strength in the biometrics space. The group discussed the Kiwi Faces project – an initiative to develop a secure, ethically sourced dataset for testing facial recognition and biometric solutions in a New Zealand context. There was strong interest in bringing Retail NZ and other sector partners on board to ensure solutions are tested responsibly before reaching the public.
Looking Ahead
- The TCA Group is progressing communications across its six priority use cases, with a May deadline – interested parties are welcome to join or observe upcoming meetings.
- A FinTech Hui panel on “From KYC to Continuous Trust” is coming up next week.
- The Cyber Security Summit and Token events in Wellington are also on the horizon.
- Potential collaboration opportunities are emerging with international partners, including Digital India, with discussions planned in Abu Dhabi soon.
Want to join the next Virtual Coffee Chat? Check out upcoming dates and register →