eftpos has enlisted Australia Post to test its newly developed digital identification service, following a successful proof-of-concept with 20 businesses.

The service, dubbed ‘connectID’, effectively serves as a “broker” between identity providers (AusPost, for instance) and merchants or government agencies that require user verification to process online payments.

eftpos chief executive Stephen Benton said connectID could help fast-track secure e-commerce transactions or government payments, noting the potential for the service to expedite welfare payments during crisis periods.

Benton said connectID has the potential to “transfer… money much faster than existing arrangements allow”.

With eftpos providing the rails for Australia’s expansive debit card network – which last year carried more than 2 billion transactions totalling $130 billion – connectID could no doubt serve a critical role as a central identity broker within Australia’s online payments system.

eftpos has enlisted AusPost to prove out the connectID model, tapping into the postal service’s own smartphone-based, NFC- and biometric-enabled Digital iD credential. First introduced in 2017, Digital iD can be used across a number of partner businesses and government agencies, from verifying identity for parcel pick-ups/drop-offs, to opening bank accounts or even transacting through government citizen services portals.

“It’s great to have other iconic Australian brands like Australia Post onboard to trial this identity solution, which fills an important gap in the market at a time when Australians are going online to transact more often following the Covid-19 pandemic,” Benton said.

eftpos said its connectID system is designed specifically to be interoperable with the Federal Government’s Trusted Digital Identity Framework (TDIF) and the industry’s TrustID framework, “as well as emerging international standards”.

connectID is slated for an official launch this November.