Royal Mail has been chosen as a partner for the GOV.UK Verify programme to enable individuals to sign in securely to Government digital services.

Royal Mail has been chosen to participate as one of a group of nine identity providers who have met stringent security and service standards. Royal Mail will carry out checks when individuals apply to create their reusable online identity (ID), confirming their identity information before creation which then allows them access to Government services online from later this year. Currently, nine Government services have signed up to use the GOV.UK service, with many more in the pipeline to follow.

Members of the public will be asked to choose which of the certified companies they would like to verify their identity. It will take individuals around 15 minutes to have their identity verified for the first time. Once a user has registered with an identity provider, they will be able to sign in to all digital services that use the GOV.UK Verify service and require the same level of assurance, using credentials provided to them by their identity provider.

Royal Mail delivers to the UK’s 29 million addresses, six days a week, connecting communities and businesses and has a long track record of supporting its customers with data solutions.

We already provide the Postcode Address File, which has revolutionised the way individuals and companies do business. Up to two million people a year also use Royal Mail’s Redirection service, which helps them protect themselves from ID fraud. If people don’t take out a Redirection when changing address, their mail is likely to land on their old doormat, with no control over who opens it or uses the information it contains.

The provision of the identity verification service is part of Royal Mail’s strategy to innovate and introduce new services where it can grow, while maintaining a leading position in the letters and parcels markets in which it currently operates.

Securely verifying the identities of individuals
Royal Mail will use permissioned Redirection service information, together with multiple credit reference agency data, to confirm and protect people’s identities so that they can access Government services online safely and easily. Royal Mail uses multiple credit reference data providers to improve our ability to match an individual with their data, making the process quicker and easier for genuine individuals to create their online identity.

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Source: Royal Mail Group