The green button is live: VERIMI gradually launches its identity and data platform

Berlin (ots)

• VERIMI platform goes live, basic product features video ID procedure – Deutsche Bank and Bundesdruckerei integrate VERIMI, other shareholders and partners will follow in the first half of the year – Start-ups Weltsparen, Compaio and Docyet are application partners from the very beginning – Further product features such as payment and ID card function as well as digital official procedures will be added in the coming months

VERIMI, the new European identity and data platform, with its central and convenient VERIMI log-in (single sign-on) is now available as a basic product (Minimum Viable Product – MVP) on the German market. The launch is taking place in stages: In a first step, the VERIMI system platform was ramped up and made productive. At this stage of the go-live process, Deutsche Bank and Bundesdruckerei are VERIMI shareholders. The green VERIMI button has thus gone live for Deutsche Bank’s online customers and Bundesdruckerei’s customers.

“The launch of the platform is an important milestone in the history of VERIMI and for the digital economy in Europe,” said Donata Hopfen, CEO at VERIMI. “We are now live with our VERIMI system, gradually connecting more shareholders and application partners in the coming weeks and months. It was important to us to go live with the platform under real conditions now.” In parallel, Weltsparen, Compaio and Docyet, a select group of start-ups that have actively supported the development of VERIMI from the beginning, have been connected. The goal after the launch of the platform is to rapidly equip it with new product features and gradually expand its reach.

In addition to the single sign-on, the video identification process has been part of the product from the very beginning. This allows users to identify themselves directly online using their ID card or passport. Other functions are gradually being added, such as the qualified electronic signature in accordance with eIDAS, payment services, the uploading and archiving of sensitive documents, and functionalities for personal documents. VERIMI thus also enables so-called digital authority transactions, for example secure identification and authentication with citizen portals.

Users retain control over their data with VERIMI

VERIMI is designed as a central and cross-sector platform. Users register once and can then use the digital services and products of the connected partners. In addition, VERIMI offers users the simple option of transferring customer data already stored to the platform. A key advantage of VERIMI is that users retain full control over their own data. Via settings on the platform, they can determine themselves which personal data should be received by which partner. Authorizations once granted can be revoked at any time. VERIMI is designed as a central platform in the first release, but will be converted to a decentralized model as the technologies mature.

For partner companies, the integration of VERIMI means a secure and easy way to digitally address and engage customers in line with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). VERIMI also delivers secure identities to connected partners, resulting in fewer transaction abandonments and fewer non-payments. In addition, VERIMI continuously acquires new partners and customers, increasing the platform’s reach and relevance. VERIMI is designed as an open platform for all sectors and industries, making it easy for companies to conveniently integrate the VERIMI green button into existing online offerings via the API interface.

Data security at the highest level

VERIMI is an open platform that can be integrated into websites and apps by application partners based on standard protocols such as OAuth and OpenID Connect. In the future, the platform will support all four authentication levels (LoA 1-4) according to the ISO standard, starting with the simple log-in and confirmation of a second factor (e.g. numerical code via SMS). The higher levels three and four will be made available by the end of the year in close cooperation with the Bundesdruckerei: through the use of the ID card or the use of mobile identification solutions on cell phones, which are being developed in the OPTIMOS funding project of the Ministry of Economics. The VERIMI platform architecture also ensures that customer data is protected on several levels. For example, all user accounts as well as the data stored in the accounts are individually encrypted. This would keep user data secure even in the event of an unauthorized intrusion into the systems. VERIMI meets the high data protection and security requirements of the European Union, including the General Data Protection Regulation (DSGVO), which came into force in May.

Quote Deutsche Bank

Markus Pertlwieser, Digital Head for Private and Corporate Clients at Deutsche Bank, says: “Only the trustworthy handling of customers’ data permanently opens the door to digital business models. VERIMI is now leading the way as an open platform and we invite all German and European companies to join us.”

Quote Bundesdruckerei

Stefan Hofschen, CEO of Bundesdruckerei GmbH: “As a leading trust service provider, Bundesdruckerei supports the successful launch and use of the VERIMI platform. The current cases of lack of control and misuse of identity data show how important a trusted identification platform is as an alternative. With VERIMI, Internet users can easily and securely identify and authenticate themselves in a wide range of online applications – in the future also with the German ID card.”