Last weekend, I borrowed a friend’s car to pick up my mom from the airport. Before I pulled out of the driveway, I got a text message — not with instructions on how to fill up the tank, but with his digital proof of insurance.
And it’s not just GEICO that’s starting to embrace digital proof-of-identity. Canada’s post office system now offers an API that companies (and the government) can use to generate a unique barcode that citizens can bring to any post office along with the required document to authenticate their identity (Canada Post: Verify customer identity.).
In New York City today, the burden falls on citizens to prove their identity and financial history repeatedly with every different agency from which they seek assistance. This paperwork burden can deter or disqualify people from receiving services for which they would otherwise qualify, as well as contribute to wasteful administrative overhead for City agencies.
I think the Canada Post solution would be a particularly interesting one for New York for several reasons. First, post offices are well-distributed across neighborhoods. Second, post offices don’t carry the stigma of a public assistance office, making the process of identity verification less of a deterrent to the client. Third, it respects the reality that not everyone is digitally equipped or fluent, and that the United States as a whole, GEICO notwithstanding, still operates predominantly on a physical documentation system. This kind of gap-bridging innovation can help nudge social services into the digital future while benefiting clients and increasing government efficiency. Take that, cavemen!
References
Canada Post: Verify customer identity. Retrieved from https://www.canadapost.ca/cpc/en/business/postal-services/digital-proof-identity.page
GEICO: How To Download Your Digital Insurance ID Cards. Retrieved from https://www.geico.com/web-and-mobile/mobile-apps/digital-ID-cards/