European Commission to unveil new plans for digital ID, remote authentication soon

Newswire: March 6, 2017.

Dateline: Brussels.

The European Commission will reveal “in the coming weeks” an action plan supporting digital identity authentication, including new methods of remote authentication.

The EU commissioner responsible for financial services and capital markets said the plan was forthcoming, and follows a consultation the EC held on retail financial services last year. In that consultation, the EC asked for feedback on regulatory burdens, gaps and inconsistences that hinder economic growth within the European Union. Responses to that consultation were published in February 2016.

“Part of [the action plan] will focus on supporting new methods of remote identification in compliance with anti-money laundering rules,” said Valdis Dombrovskis, the commissioner in charge of the plan. “The use of e-ID and e-signature schemes in several member states are developments we want to build on.”

Dombrovskis said the responses received in the consultation were “overwhelmingly positive about the digital transformation” of financial services. Further, the European Commission has also set up its own fintech (financial technology) task force, which will examine “new regulatory frameworks which are being introduced in different countries,” and understanding how they affect a digital single market agenda.

Dombrovskis said he is committed to ensuring that the EU’s stance on financial technology does not “overregulate a budding industry.”

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