Robust, inclusive, and responsibleidentification systems can increase access to finance,healthcare, education, and other critical services andbenefits. Identification systems are also key to improvingefficiency and enabling innovation for public- andprivate-sector services, such as greater efficiency in thedelivery of social safety nets and facilitating thedevelopment of digital economies. However, the World Bankestimates that more than 1.1 billion individuals do not haveofficial proof of their identity. New technologies providecountries with the opportunity to leapfrog paper-basedsystems and rapidly establish a robust identificationinfrastructure. As a result, the countries are increasinglyadopting nationwide digital identification (ID) programs andleveraging them in other sectors. Whether a country isenhancing existing ID systems or implementing new systemsfrom the ground up, technology choices are critical to thesuccess of digital identification systems. A number of newtechnologies are emerging to enable various aspects of IDlifecycle. For some of these technologies, no large-scalestudies have been done; for others, current speculationmakes objective evaluations difficult. This report is afirst attempt to develop a comprehensive overview of thecurrent technology landscape for digital identification. Itis intended to serve as a framework for understanding themyriad options and considerations of technology in thisrapidly advancing agenda and in no way is intended toprovide advice on specific technologies, particularly giventhere are a number of other considerations and countrycontexts which need to be considered. This report also doesnot advocate the use of a certain technology from aparticular vendor for any particular application. While sometechnologies are relatively easy to use and affordable,others are costly or so complex that using them on a largescale presents daunting challenges. This report providespractitioners with an overview of various technologies andadvancements that are especially relevant for digitalidentification systems. It highlights key benefits andchallenges associated with each technology. It also providesa framework for assessing each technology on multiplecriteria, including length of time it has been in use, itsease of integration with legacy and future systems, and itsinteroperability with other technologies. The practitionersand stakeholders who read this are reminded to bear in mindthat the technologies associated with ID systems are rapidlyevolving, and that this report, prepared in early 2018, is asnapshot in time.
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