Businesses Can Tap On MyInfo to Offer Faster Transactions for Citizens

Businesses Can Tap On MyInfo To Offer Faster Transactions For Citizens

10 Nov 2017

Businesses and developers can now offer simpler and hassle-free digital services to their customers by tapping on the government’s MyInfo service. Launched today, the MyInfo Developer & Partner Portal, as a next step towards building a vibrant ecosystem for the National Digital Identity (NDI), provides businesses with the necessary resources to integrate their digital services with MyInfo.

This move sets Singapore apart as one of the first governments in the world to enable businesses to access consent-driven citizen data for easier integration into their applications. This is in line with the Smart Nation objectives of facilitating greater collaboration between Government and private sector, to create better efficiencies for businesses and a more intuitive user experience for their customers.

The Government Technology Agency (GovTech) is introducing this portal on the back of the well-received MyInfo bank pilot. The earlier pilot has helped bank users do away with the need to submit supporting documents, such as NRIC scans or proof of address, ensuring greater convenience and faster transaction times when opening new bank accounts and applying for credit cards. Banks also reported an average decrease of up to 80 per cent in application time for their customers, with some seeing up to 15 per cent higher approval rate due to MyInfo’s better data quality. Verified data streamlines business processes

Chan Cheow Hoe, Government Chief Information Officer, GovTech, said, “We’ve been observing how citizens transact with government, and what it takes to reduce the hassle on their part. With MyInfo made available to a wider range of business transactions, we can help remove the need to verify documents, and even reduce time spent on face-to-face meetings. This significantly improves business efficiency as companies can on-board their customers faster.”

The provision of government-verified digital data also ensures greater accuracy in the information provided to the companies. The security and privacy of citizen data remains a key priority, similar to the bank pilot, businesses will need to seek consent from customers at the point of every transaction before any data is released for their use. Keen interest from industry Following news of the bank pilot, GovTech has received strong interest from more than 100 businesses in various business sectors including telecommunications, utilities, banking and finance on how they can tap on MyInfo for faster transactions with their customers.

“We are very excited to use MyInfo to deliver frictionless, cashless transactions for both consumers and merchants. The MyInfo platform will optimise the onboarding process of our hawker partners by streamlining KYC documentation and verification, enabling them to quickly and easily accept e-money. This is in line with Smart Nation and we are pleased to be part of the rapidly evolving cashless payments ecosystem,” said Jeremy Tan, founder and CEO of Liquid Group.

The portal will also benefit developers as it offers a sandbox environment for them to build solutions faster. Developers can access the sandbox at www.ndi-api.gov.sg/library/trusted-data/myinfo/introduction to find out how to prototype their services. Locally-registered businesses can log in with their CorpPass credentials from December 2017 onwards.

Annex - Quotes from participating banks and users (350kb)

Press release issued by Government Technology Agency of Singapore