Identity: the ‘OS layer’ of an economy

All transactions are based on trust. It is the simple bedrock of any economic system. We have to trust that the value we transfer to others will be delivered and that we receive our expected value in exchange.

But what is this trust built on? For almost every type of transaction you can imagine, the foundation or the platform that supports it is our identity. A bank opens an account for you because it can verify that you are a unique individual and it has the means to prove this every time you interact with their system. Even less formal transactions such as eBay are facilitated by a digital identity that proves a history and a reputation, and importantly an identity that the transaction will forever be associated with.

Who you are is everything- your economic potential, your risk, your return. With an identity, you are no longer an unknown quantity and you can access systems and services that generate economic growth.

Identity is the operating system for economic transactions. It is the basis for further development. We trust because the value of our identity is most often higher than the value of the transaction. It allows access to a greater value than we currently hold.

Identity-backed transactions:

• Provide recourse

Transfer of value can causes disputes. Identity proves the ownership and transfer history details between parties.

• Prevents fraud

Biometry and a blockchain ledger of transactions prevents people from assuming the identity of another and prevents the misallocation of funds.

• Impacts future economic transactions

If we are unable to pay today, our ability to receive value tomorrow is going to be impacted. That is why identity is used as a platform to start individuals’ economic journey, and the signifier for their trustworthiness.

Identity is linked to our reputation. Our economic transactions are all woven into our identity. It benefits us to display how trustworthy we are in order to enjoy the benefits of a globalized society. We demonstrate this through pre-paid credit and putting up collateral to stake. Trust is reinforced by financial staking for loans and mortgages.

Identity: Foundation for growth

Rather than being an infallible, inherent component of us as humans, identity is a mosaic or different components that must be established and maintained in order to function. There is no universal key to identity. Registered birth records, internationally recognized documents, biometry, and banking all form part of developed economies system of verification.

Whilst everyone’s identity starts equal, the more institutions and identity services you have access to, the greater access to economic services you are granted. Young people are given access to credit of hundreds of thousands of dollars in order to access a college education. Their identity is anchored even further, to their families, to assets held by their families. The financial institution can use their identity to work out their risk as an entity and can invest in their development because their identity provides information about the likelihood of the return. Identity is the platform that allows people to get educated, build businesses, and seek investment.

Without a deep and varied identity access systems and services that will create economic growth, people and societies are unable to develop their prospects. Simply put, your ability to build within an economy, and the ability of the wider economy to grow to a national level is reliant on your identity, your ability to prove your identity, and the assumed value of this identity.

By combining digital identity with value transfer, Everest creates a foundation of trust and the means of interaction for almost every economic system. It provides a ready-made entry point to financial services that will allow and encourage economic growth in developing markets.

Identity is the trust and recourse for lending and insurance, education, healthcare, international trade. By combining identity with the means to accurately transfer the value required, the supply chain is shortened. People won’t have to deal with multiple municipal organizations, and then centralized financial institutions to receive value. They can establish an internationally recognized and accurate identity, and use their wallet to receive financial services such as micro-lending, remittances, and ownership documents.

This creates Individual prosperity and the means to increase the national GDP and overall economic development in countries with a high proportion of unverified citizens. Everest is providing an opportunity to give over a billion individuals a platform to use their identity to build upon.

Learn more about Everest.