Building a secure, interoperable, and resilient Digital Public Infrastructure requires rethinking digital identity—integrating key technologies like biometrics and artificial intelligence as a strategic driver for economic development and digital trust.
By Miguel Santos Luparelli Mathieu, Product Innovation Director
Digital identity is much more than an authentication mechanism. It is the essential bridge between the physical and digital worlds and has become a foundational pillar for enabling more connected, efficient, and secure economies. According to the World Bank Group, along with digital payments and shared data management, digital identity is one of the three core building blocks of a Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) that allows countries to accelerate their digital transformation in a sovereign and sustainable way.
A modern DPI requires robust Digital Identity Verification (IDV) solutions, powered by technologies such as biometrics, that ensure high levels of security while preserving citizens’ privacy. This ecosystem must also be supported by a resilient Public Key Infrastructure (PKI).
Technological sovereignty, efficiency, cybersecurity, and interoperability
The adoption of secure, high-quality digital components with the ability to interoperate across jurisdictions not only drives the efficiency of digital transactions but also strengthens countries’ technological sovereignty.
The European Commission, for example, with its DIGITAL 2025–2027 framework program, promotes an approach based on public-private collaboration to improve cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, and digital capabilities.
This type of infrastructure (DPI) not only allows for the anticipation of threats and improves response capacity to cyberattacks or disruptions but also facilitates the agile recovery of critical services and operational continuity within the digital ecosystem.
Trust frameworks: global collaboration for digital identity
Public Digital Infrastructure is built upon multiple trust frameworks —both public and private— that enable interoperability between countries and regions. Key examples include:
- Europe: European Digital Identity Framework
- Canada: DIACC (Digital Identity and Authentication Council of Canada)
- United States: AAMVA mDL / VICAL
- United Kingdom: DIATF (Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework)
- Australia: Austroads Digital Trust Service
- Singapore: Singpass
In the private sector, initiatives like the International Air Transport Association (IATA) explore the use of digital identities to streamline airport processes through contactless authentication experiences (“Seamless and Contactless Travel”).
All of these frameworks share a common vision: enabling selective identity attribute presentation —which involves data minimization— and promoting decentralized storage, giving users full control over their personal information.
Shared data to reinforce collective security
The Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) also encompasses the exchange of anonymized transactional data between entities in the financial and technological ecosystem. This approach enables the detection of unusual behaviors, fraud prevention, and the strengthening of systemic security through:
- Signal and event analysis
- Intent detection
- Predictive artificial intelligence models
These mechanisms are key to identifying cases such as money laundering, mule accounts, or identity fraud attempts, enabling a collaborative, proactive, and automated response to risks.
Verifiable credentials and fraud-resistant authentication
Verifiable Credentials (VCs) are digital documents that securely and privately prove personal attributes or information, such as identity, age, or nationality. These credentials can be issued and verified by trusted entities and are especially useful in contexts where authentication must be fast, secure, and privacy-preserving.
Verifiable Credentials are emerging as one of the most promising formats for future digital identities. Their main advantages include:
- Decentralization and interoperability
- Security through public-key cryptography
- Selective data disclosure (e.g., proving legal age without revealing the birth date)
- Compatibility with Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) when combined with facial biometrics
Issued after a high-assurance Digital Identity Verification process, these credentials can progressively replace physical documents and meet standards such as KYC, AML, and CFT in the financial sector.
Towards a resilient, secure, and citizen-centric digital ecosystem
Ultimately, integrating digital identity with other technological layers—such as Public Key Infrastructure (PKI), biometrics, artificial intelligence, and verifiable credentials—enables the creation of digital ecosystems that are:
- Secure and trustworthy
- Agile and interoperable
- Resilient to threats and disruptions
- Centered on user data control
This approach is not only key to protecting individuals and institutions, but also serves as a catalyst for sustainable economic growth, digital inclusion, and the consolidation of real and effective technological sovereignty.
At Facephi, we work to deliver secure, accessible, and interoperable digital identity solutions, helping governments and businesses build more trustworthy, inclusive, and resilient digital infrastructures.
