Royal Bank of Scotland takes lead with ID management

The Royal Bank of Scotland is to provide digital certificates to 40,000 businesses connected to BACS, the UK payment and clearing organisation.

The IT security services arm of the bank, TrustAssured, is selling Eident certificates as part of an identity management service that is guaranteed by the bank in case of fraud.

George Evers, head of solution design at RBS TrustAssured, said taking liability for identity management was nothing new for the bank: "Bluntly, it comes down to if something goes wrong, who do you turn to?"

"We said we'd take liability and take risk decisions," he added.

"One of the things we do every day is to identify people and businesses. We are regulated by the FSA and if we get it wrong we get fined. Exactly the same process is used validating a digital identity. It's that process that gives it the value."

The TrustAssured service works around Public Key Infrastructure (PKI). Each certificate is stored on a smart card, which holds a PIN and ID for the card owner.

Evers said that all 40,000 companies will be using the certificates by the end of the year.

The Ministry of Defence, pharmaceutical and insurance companies are also using the service to ensure that their information and money are exchanged securely. Coverpoint, an online insurance broking system for business insurers, is using it to secure transactions and do away with paperwork.

Harry Croydon, CEO of Coverpoint, said: "It's essential for us that all our communications are secure while at the same time transactions can be processed as quickly as possible. We found Eident affordable and easy to integrate into our existing IT infrastructure.

"Knowing that a trusted UK bank is securing our communications gives us - and most importantly our customers - absolute confidence in our online business processes."

Evers said the certificates cost around £40 each.