In OfDIA, we’re working to prepare for a future where people who want to use digital verification services across national borders have the option to do so in a way which is secure, privacy-preserving and inclusive.
That’s why the UK’s digital identity and attributes trust framework has been developed in line with established global standards, keeping interoperability at its core.
Nevertheless, the UK’s approach is just one of countless different ways to enable people to prove who they are or things about themselves digitally; every country has different priorities for digital identity and is taking slightly different approaches to enable their use. This fragmentation leads to complexity.
Making any digital identity work internationally means understanding and aligning a range of technical, legal, data, governance, privacy and security standards – not to mention battling through scores of mystifying acronyms.
Introducing the OfDIA international interoperability surveyTo help us navigate these challenges, we wanted to do more to ensure we understand the needs and experiences of digital verification service (DVS) providers that are at the sharp end of making digital identities work overseas.
As part of this, in May 2025 we invited DVS stakeholders to complete a short survey, to help us understand:
What’s stopping DVS stakeholders from operating internationally? What can the UK government do to make it easier to use digital identities or credentials internationally? What are the benefits of internationally interoperable digital identities?The results were fascinating. And while a note of caution is needed – given the limited sample size, the findings of the survey should not be considered representative of the sector as a whole – we found a few key takeaway messages.
Key takeaways
First, the findings indicated that there are currently major barriers to working internationally - with 79% (26) of respondents reporting barriers such as regulatory diversity, disparate systems and technical challenges.
Similarly, 79% (26) of respondents said there was a role for government in helping remove barriers to interoperability, and create the conditions for maximising cross-border interoperability.
Primarily, this was through:
Mutual recognition of trust frameworks: 62% (13) of respondents expressed the need for the UK to support harmonisation, alignment and/or mutual recognition of national trust frameworks – with a focus on aligning with the EU in particular. Enabling consistent adoption of technical standards: 57% (12) of respondents wanted to see government support greater harmonisation and adoption of technical standards, such as the mobile driving licence standard.Respondents felt that addressing these barriers would lead to greater operational efficiency, lower costs, improved user experience, and market growth – with sectors such as finance particularly benefitting.
The full report can be found on GOV.UK - and contains a wealth of material that we hope will be of interest to anyone looking at interested in how digital identities work across borders.
What we’ll do with the findingsWe’ll draw on the findings of the report to inform our ongoing conversations with stakeholders across the UK on how the government could enable the cross-border use of digital identities and credentials.
As part of this, we are open to further feedback on the questions raised in the survey – contact us via the ‘digital identity’ section on the DSIT contact form. We’ll look to re-run the survey in due course.
And obviously – our work is not just about listening: it's also about doing. And so we'll be using this blog to update you on all the progress we're making throughout the year.
seen at 11:30, 23 February in Enabling digital identity.