Meeting Nigerian’s Quest for Digital Economy, Privacy Safety

Youverify.inc, a technology company, recently launched YouID, a secure digital identity wallet. Mary Nnah writes YouID will bolster Nigeria’s digital economy and security through secure access to relevant identity information

It is no longer news that millions of people have compromised their accounts, resulting in losing money or important information stored online. This situation has necessitated multifactor authentication and other failsafe to protect accounts to check the shortcomings associated with identity issues.

Nigeria is a country with a huge population of over 200 million people with different cultures and backgrounds. In a country of such diversity, having a solid framework by which people can accurately be identified is critical.

While the national identity number, voter card, bank verification number, driver’s licence, and passport are available, identification remains a big issue. Cases of difficulties in providing identity information and incidents of mistaken identity and identity theft are rampant.

It is clear that a lot still needs to be attained when it comes to protecting the identity information of individuals and the ease with which Nigerians can provide their identity information and accurately identify themselves.

Moreover, the internet and communication technologies have revolutionised the way individuals communicate and transact with one another. This change is not peculiar to individuals alone as businesses – micro, small, medium, and large have embraced and adopted some level of technology or the other to enable them to operate in simpler, more intuitive, and efficient ways.

Over the course of time, these technological changes have gained acceptance and become prevalent, connecting individuals and institutions across different time zones and continents and creating a new digitally-enabled culture and economy.

These advancements in technology and connectivity require users to have or create digital identities, vis-a-vis filling out online forms to gain access to services, mobile apps, websites, and certain software and tools.

Their identities are captured via email addresses, usernames, passwords, phone numbers, and location. This is a cumbersome, time-consuming process because it requires individuals to memorise usernames and passwords to log in to sites and access information.

Again, there is also the burden and risk of moving around with important documents such as the passport, national ID, driver’s licences, and vehicle documents. Beyond the burden of losing vital documents and getting locked out of accounts due to the loss of usernames and passwords is the risk of compromised passwords and unauthorised access to users’ accounts by cybercriminals and hackers.

To curb these shortcomings and many more identity-related issues, Youverify, a technology company focused on identity and access management with biometric identity verification and other digital identity solutions, recently launched YouID.

YouID is a secure digital identity wallet that lets individuals safely store personal details, identity information and personal documents in an encrypted format and use it to access online services securely without filling a Know Your Customer (KYC) form.

Youverify aims to build an Africa where Africans and businesses can build economic relationships and trust without worrying about fraud or compliance difficulties. With YouID, Nigerians can easily give businesses, organisations, and other individuals secured access to their relevant identity information as needed.

People no longer have to fill their personal information on KYC forms and other documents again as their personal identity information is automatically supplied in the relevant field. At the launch, Youverify’s CEO, Dr Gbenga Odegbami, said YouID was born from the understanding he and his team have of how important it is for personal information to be protected.

He further explained that YouID provides an extra layer of security, ease and comfort. As a lifestyle App, YouID is built for daily use by those who wish to live smart, adding that the YouID app is available for free on the Google and Apple Stores for users to download and begin their journey to a smarter and more secure lifestyle.

“Our goal at YouID is basically to eliminate you from filling the form twice or numerous times. Once you upload your information, you just need to click to fill any form hopefully in the world but let’s start with Nigeria”, Odegbami noted.

“You only need to fill a form once, and any other time you want to access any other opportunity, your other information is in your phone. It is neither with anybody else nor with us at YouID. It is only with you. That means that even if you put a gun on our head, we do not even know your information. The information is only with you, and you alone have the power and exclusivity to share that information with any merchant or service provider that you choose to do,” he added.

YouID, he revealed, also has a sophisticated two-factor authentication system that helps safeguard the online accounts for users across multiple online platforms and helps notify them of any breaches.

Thus, apart from providing a secure digital wallet for the storage of personal information, YouID notifies users when any of their passwords have been breached, or a third-party data breach has leaked their credentials. YouID continuously collates and reports data breaches and leakages globally, thereby keeping users informed and their credentials secure at all times.

Designed with individuals and businesses in mind, YouID is equipped to help businesses gather their customers’ KYC information easily and track and verify physical addresses.

With the click of a button, businesses can collect and review the data of their customers and prospects without subjecting them to the dreary task of filling out forms, thereby simplifying onboarding processes and giving them the assurance they need to transact with individuals or other businesses.

Since YouID also gives users access to a marketplace to secure the best deals from verified and trusted merchants. In addition, it provides businesses with the visibility and appeal they require to attract more patronage. Based on the foregoing, YouID is regarded as the complete identity security and lifestyle app for smart Nigerians.