Service

  • Seamless Experiences
  • Strategy and Transformation

Industry

  • Government

Case study February 4th, 2019

The Baltics develop a new, ultra-secure eID solution for online banking

In the Baltic states, the push to develop a new eID solution for online banking resulted in something far more powerful: an ultra-secure, mobile-based system for authentication and digital signing that requires no special SIM card. It can be adopted by any online service provider, is free for users and naturally, has caught on like wildfire.

Nortal has been an important partner in developing the eID system based on chip cards (ID cards), SIM based Mobile-ID and the mobile application Smart-ID that is not connected to a physical chip.

Banks hit an eID bottleneck

In 2016, tighter security regulations were forcing banks operating in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania to rethink the way customers would log in and use services. The options available left much to be desired.

Key player in Estonian eID infrastructure

Over the past decade, we have helped to build and modify existing eID solutions and integrate them to provide services. We have contributed significantly to making eID a natural part of the e-government infrastructure. Nortal supports all aspects necessary for the successful implementation of electronic identity, whether this involves eID infrastructure, trust services, digital signatures, authentication solutions, establishing policy, supporting the legal environment or nationwide eGovernance.

How Smart-ID works

Smart-ID launch marked a watershed moment for business in the Baltics

Thanks to its unmatched ease of adoption and use, the app was picked up at lightning speed, gaining over 1 million users in the region — more than one in six residents — within its first 18 months. That number continues to climb.

The service went far beyond its initial goal of solving a practical problem for banks, quickly growing into a popular tool for authentication and digital signature throughout the private sector. Dozens of non-banking service providers, ranging from utility companies to pet stores, are now offering their customers the advantages of Smart-ID.

Smart-ID is eIDAS compliant QSCD (Qualified Signature Creation Device), it can be used to give electronic signature equal to handwritten signature anywhere in the EU. That’s an important consideration for SK ID Solutions, which is hoping to expand it to other European countries that need a next-generation answer to their eID needs.

The rise of secure, electronic identity in recent years has boosted the power of individuals and businesses to operate in the online realm. Now, thanks to the development of Smart-ID, that power can be put into the pocket of anyone with a smartphone.

SmartID statistics

Related content

Article

People walking on crosswalk
  • Data and AI
  • eCensus
  • Strategy and Transformation
  • Technology and Engineering
  • e-Census and Statistics
  • Government
  • Government Transformation
  • Real-Time Economy

What’s next for official statistics

How is technology changing the role of statistical offices and what are the steps they need to take to become future-ready.

Article

People standing in subway, train passing
  • Strategy and Transformation
  • Citizen-Centric Personalized Digital Government
  • Government

How proactive public services can contribute to a more socially just and equitable society

Proactive public services have the potential to transform societies. Examples of what a PPS-enabled future can look like include tax declarations that take seconds, a new driver’s license dropped into your mailbox when an expiration date gets close, or social benefits that get automatically deposited into your bank account.

Article

People walking in different direction on a city street
  • Strategy and Transformation
  • Citizen-Centric Personalized Digital Government
  • Government

Proactive public services in Austria, Estonia, and New Zealand – what have we learned?

Many governments around the world have begun to experiment with increasing proactivity when it comes to their public services, but there are still relatively few working examples.

Get in touch

Let us offer you a new perspective.