Identity Verification for Public Services: Building Secure, Scalable Digital e-Services

Digital transformation in the public sector is an ongoing process. Citizens increasingly expect fast, secure, and fully online access to public services from payments and permits to social services and administrative procedures. At the heart of this transformation lies identity verification: the ability to accurately confirm who a person is before granting access to sensitive public e-services.

Modern identity verification solutions are a strategic enabler of digital public services, helping governments protect against fraud, streamline operations, and deliver better experiences to citizens.

Identity Verification as the Foundation of Public e-Services

Public authorities manage some of the most sensitive data and processes in society. Without reliable identity verification, digital public services are exposed to fraud, identity theft, and operational inefficiencies.

A robust identity verification framework enables public institutions to:

• Confidently deliver services online
• Reduce dependency on physical offices and paper documents
• Ensure that only eligible individuals access public resources
• Maintain trust between citizens and public administration

At IDENTT, we act as a dedicated partner in the development of public e-services, supporting authorities at every stage, from system design to secure, scalable implementation.

Key Challenges Facing Public Sector Identity Verification

Rising Fraud and Identity Abuse

Public institutions are increasingly targeted by fraudsters using stolen or synthetic identities. Manual checks and legacy systems struggle to detect such threats at scale.

Balancing Security with Accessibility

Citizens expect simple, intuitive digital services. Overly complex verification processes create friction, reduce adoption, and disproportionately affect vulnerable groups.

Operational Inefficiency

Manual document verification consumes time and resources, leading to backlogs, higher costs, and slower service delivery.

Modern identity verification must address all three challenges simultaneously — without compromising security, privacy, or user experience.

The Rise of e-Services Use in Europe

Digital transformation is reshaping how citizens interact with public authorities across Europe. In 2024, 70% of individuals aged 16–74 in the EU reported using a website or app of a public authority in the previous 12 months. The highest usage was observed in Denmark (99%), the Netherlands (96%), Finland, and Sweden (both 95%), while Bulgaria and Romania reported 32% and 25%, respectively. These figures highlight that while digital public services are becoming the standard, their adoption varies significantly across countries.

During the same period, 44% of EU citizens used e-government services to obtain information about benefits, laws, opening hours, or similar services. Other common activities included accessing personal information (40%) and downloading or printing official forms (38%). This shows that e-government services are not only convenient information channels but are also increasingly essential tools for citizens’ day-to-day interactions with public administration.

A secure foundation for accessing these services is electronic identification (eID), which allows citizens to verify their identity online and securely access public services across Europe (read also: Is Europe Ready for the EUDI Wallet? A 2025 Status Overview)

How IDENTT Supports Public Authorities

IDENTT’s public sector solutions are designed specifically to meet the operational, security, and regulatory needs of government institutions.

Support in the Development of Public e-Services

We work closely with public authorities as a long-term technology partner, helping design and implement identity verification frameworks that integrate seamlessly into existing and future e-services. Our solutions support:

• Digital onboarding for public portals
• Secure access to municipal and national services
• Scalable identity verification across multiple use cases

Detection of False and Stolen Identities

IDENTT’s proprietary technology swiftly detects fraudulent and stolen identities combining automated document authenticity checks with biometric verification, and advanced liveness and anti-spoofing mechanisms. This ensures that only genuine users can access public services, preserving system integrity and public trust.

Fraud Prevention at Scale

Advanced identity verification solutions act as a robust defense against fraudulent activities across public systems. By identifying risks early in the process, authorities can prevent abuse before financial or administrative damage occurs. This proactive approach safeguards public budgets and sensitive citizen data, while ensuring continuity of public service operations.

Streamlining Document Verification Processes

Manual document checks are slow, costly, and prone to errors. Automating these processes accelerates verification, eliminates repetitive tasks, and enhances consistency and accuracy. This not only reduces operational costs but also streamlines administration, delivering a faster, more reliable experience for citizens.

Use Case: Identity Verification for the City of Johannesburg

A practical example of modern identity verification in action is our implementation for the City of Johannesburg. As part of the city’s broader digital transformation, identity verification was embedded into a central public application that brings multiple municipal services together in one secure digital environment.

The application serves as a single access point for residents, enabling them to store and manage official documents, authorise payments for services such as water and electricity, submit applications and permits, and receive notifications related to municipal matters. Identity verification acts as the trust layer of this ecosystem, ensuring that each user is accurately verified before accessing or performing sensitive actions within the app.

By integrating identity verification directly into this unified public app, the city enables secure remote access to a wide range of municipal services while addressing ongoing challenges related to fraud, identity misuse, and administrative inefficiencies. This approach significantly reduces the need for in-person visits and manual document checks, easing pressure on administrative staff and accelerating service delivery.

At the same time, advanced verification mechanisms allow fraudulent or duplicate identities to be detected at an early stage, strengthening the security of public systems and protecting sensitive citizen data. The Johannesburg implementation demonstrates how well-designed identity verification, when embedded into a single citizen-facing application, can support both operational efficiency and long-term public sector strategy while building trust in digital public services.

Identity Verification as a Long-Term Public Sector Strategy

Identity verification should not be treated as a standalone tool. It is a capability that underpins secure digital government. With the continued expansion of online public services, authorities need solutions that are:

• Scalable and future-proof
• Compliant with data protection and privacy regulations
• Designed around citizen needs
• Backed by an experienced, reliable technology partner

IDENTT supports public institutions in building this foundation securely, efficiently, and at scale.

Conclusion

The future of public services is digital, and identity verification is the key to making it secure, trusted, and accessible. By combining fraud prevention, streamlined document verification, and expert support in public e-service development, public authorities can confidently meet citizen expectations while protecting critical systems.

With proven implementations such as the City of Johannesburg, IDENTT demonstrates how modern identity verification enables public sector transformation in practice.