Progress in the Australian digital identity landscape is evident, with significant developments across both public and private sectors in 2024. Similarly, when it comes to the general public, awareness of such services is trending upward. However, this doesn’t necessarily equate to understanding, according to a recent Kantar survey commissioned by Australian Payments Plus (AP+). 

The study, which interviewed 400 digitally active consumers aged 18 to 65, highlighted a positive shift in Australia’s awareness of digital identity services. As of August 2024, about seven in ten Australians (69%) were aware of these solutions. 

Awareness was notably higher among younger age groups, with 81% of 18-24-year-olds and 73% of 25-34-year-olds aware of these types of services. This is likely a result of greater usage of digital services and e-commerce in general within these cohorts.

What’s more, nine in ten consumers (91%) now recognise that their main bank offers digital ID solutions. ConnectID Managing Director Andrew Black believes that having major Australian banks now adopting ConnectID will further boost awareness and understanding of the benefits of digital identity solutions.

“Our data shows that knowledge of digital ID solutions is growing. With some of the country’s largest banks now enabling ConnectID for their customers, public confidence and understanding will undoubtedly also rise.”

Work to be done

Despite this positive start, almost a third of the population (31%) has never heard of any digital identity solution. When asked to spontaneously name available digital identity services, only 29% could do so.  

As a new concept for many, the importance of consistency in messaging to improve recognition of digital identity cannot be underestimated, as it establishes both familiarity and trust. Moreover, general awareness doesn’t necessarily translate into understanding what these solutions offer or how to use them.

ConnectID is designed to reduce the risk of oversharing personal information, putting the customer in control of what information is shared and when, and only with express consent. By verifying their identity through trusted institutions, they already have a relationship with, like a bank, consumers can also reduce the number of times they’re required to manually input or upload sensitive information.   

The survey also revealed that once a solution like ConnectID was explained to respondents, 36% said they were “extremely” or “very likely” to use it, with an additional 42% indicating they would be “somewhat likely” to adopt the service indicating as a new solution, the benefits become clearer with exposure. 

One in two respondents found the verification process with ConnectID very easy to understand, with younger users finding it particularly straightforward (71% aged 18-24 and 66% aged 25-34).  

When asked about relevance and usage within their existing online interactions, consumers said they would like to use ConnectID for online shopping (45%), setting up utilities (41%), and government services such as tax filing and Medicare (40%) if these services become available.

The results suggest that increased education about how digital ID solutions work for the individual along with the range of use cases for digital identity could significantly improve understanding of the benefits. 

To learn more, visit ConnectID – Digital identity verification