Online identity verification service miiCard today announced that it is the first United Kingdom-based identity service provider to join the Open Identity Exchange (OIX), a non-profit organization dedicated to building trust in the exchange of online identity credentials across public and private sectors.
"In order to achieve real trust online and solve for the high rate of abandonment that still occurs when proof of identity is requested, the industry must work together to remove any doubts surrounding the accuracy of online identity verification," said miiCard CEO James Varga. "We are excited to help OIX craft the standards and safeguards that will enable companies and organizations to operate in more secure, fluid and trusted online frameworks based on universally accepted protocols."
As the leader in electronic identity and verification systems, miiCard will leverage its global footprint to assist OIX in expanding an international network of trust frameworks. miiCard joins the UK's Government's Cabinet office Identity Assurance Programme (IDAP) as a fellow UK-based member of OIX.
miiCard's online identity verification service allows consumers to track, monitor and take control of their identity online. miiCard is the only service that can prove a user's identity to the level of a photo ID in minutes and completely online, meeting Anti-Money Laundering and Know Your Customer compliance standards. This process allows financial services and ecommerce sites to offer complete online applications and sign-ups for products and services that have historically required offline identity checks. It also enables individuals to create a greater level of trust online, proving "I am who I say I am" within a range of peer-to-peer, social and professional networks.
OIX is building an underlying system of protocols and processes so that identity service providers and relying parties can interact within a trusted framework. As the first Open Identity Trust Framework provider, OIX follows an open market model to provide the certification services needed to deliver the levels of identity assurance and protection needed by communities like the US government, PBS, OCLC, the telco LIDB Forum, and others. OIX is an international organization based in the United States and developed in response to the White House's National Strategy for Trusted Identities in Cyberspace (NSTIC) initiative.
"We are pleased to welcome miiCard as a leader in electronic identity verification to OIX and as a further validation of our international scope," said Don Thibeau, OIX Board Chair. "Their experience will help us build more effective trust frameworks between identity service providers and relying parties."