Access to Services via Inclusive ID

Which of the following categories best describes your solution?

• A new technology

Describe what makes your solution innovative.

• Privacy via Identity Tokens --- We do not store sensitive biometric data like templates or images.  We do not want to store sensitive personal data and we don’t want others to be able to do it either; even at the last mile.
• Platform-wide Security --- When data is synced to the cloud, there are no encrypted templates or images exchanging hands. Only irreversible tokens. We enable implementation of security, privacy rules at the local device level.
• Contactless & Contact Biometrics --- We enable use of multiple contactless biometric modalities (i.e. palm, face, fingerprints, etc.) in addition to traditional contact biometrics.  
• Decentralized vs. Centralized --- We support both a centralized approach, with uniqueness across the ecosystem, as well as a fully decentralized system with no central authority.
• No Proprietary Hardware --- Biometric enrollment does not require proprietary devices and works on majority of existing consumer smart devices.
• Offline Use in Remote Areas --- Our solution enables identity verification & identification at the local level (offline) leveraging data on a local smartphone or tablet.
• New Use Cases for Tokens --- Due to small size of biometric tokens (as small as 128 bytes), we enable creation of new, innovative solution that leverage biometrics, digital credentials, verified data claims, financial services, etc.
• Transparent Guidelines & Standards --- Our solution does not rely on proprietary templates. We require all biometric input data to be provided either according to ISO standards and/or transparent guidelines that we expect biometric modality providers to meet, thus reducing vendor lock-in.

Provide evidence that your solution works.

AIID Global and TrustStamp, in partnership with Mastercard Inc., have been working on joint digital identity privacy & security initiatives for the last three years. Our collaboration led to the unveiling of the Inclusive Identity prototype solution at the 2019 ID4Africa conference in Johannesburg. We have worked since to evaluate and bring in additional partners onboard and work with various organizations and stakeholders interested in a more balanced, more secure, privacy-enhancing, standards-based, and more open digital identity ecosystem of the future. 

• Commercial Deployments --- Some of the examples of the existing implementations of the core AI technology by TrustStamp include: (a) use by Attorneys General in United States and Mexico to identify victims of human trafficking; (b) account retrieval and combatting of synthetic identity fraud by a U.S. bank; and (c) verification of individuals in the UK for the real estate association. 
• Community Pass Ecosystem --- Mastercard plans to introduce new digital tools, ecosystem services, financial inclusion, and innovative business models that will bring together a variety of private sector and NGOs to enable access to services by individuals and communities, all enabled by identity and shared infrastructure.
• Independent Testing --- We have conducted a technology evaluation by an independent 3rd party to validate the performance of the Inclusive Identity solution, including contactless data collection with individuals in North America and Africa.  

Please select the technologies currently used in your solution:

• Artificial Intelligence / Machine Learning

What is your theory of change?

Biometric identity systems can assist with resolving identity challenges, but many of them include proprietary solutions, data siloes, specialized hardware devices, little to no interoperability, and storage of sensitive data like biometric images and/or templates. As a result, user experience is poor, use of biometrics is highly centralized, and it is often limited to one organization. Multiple functional ID schemes, set up for the purpose of service delivery, offer limited outside usage of digital identity credentials. We believe that a more open system based on global standards and shared infrastructure can enable individuals to access more services in the increasingly more digitized and connected economy, while reducing vendor lock-in and lowering costs.  

Implementation of biometric tokenization – as an emerging technology – in the digital identity ecosystem is a new endeavor that provides tremendous opportunities to improve the privacy and security of the users’ data, but also enable use cases, business models, and deployment scenarios that have not been feasible in the past. It also produces challenges, as this approach is highly disruptive to the existing business models and established technology systems.   

• Activities --- (a) Establish open & transparent guidelines for biometric template creation; (b) Leverage open/global standards for biometrics and digital identity; (c) Tokenize biometric templates/images; (d) Design and plan to test the solution for existing and new use cases; (e) Use of widely available consumer devices as a shared infrastructure.   
• Outputs --- (a) Stand-alone or complementary implementation of Inclusive Identity; (b) Promoted industry & stakeholder dialogue on emerging standards & technologies; (c) Successfully implemented biometric tokenization use cases; (d) Lowered costs and improved security & availability of digital identity tools at the last mile;   
• Medium Term Outcomes --- (a) Enabled universal acceptance of digital identity and/or ID credentials for enrolled users; (b) Supported delivery of services via remote- or self-authentication and/or delegation of authority in a decentralized fashion; (c)  Established an ecosystem of multiple biometric vendors for verification/identification at the last mile
• Long Term Outcome --- More secure, more responsible, and privacy-enhancing use of biometric data by organizations and users in a wider number of locations, scenarios, and use cases.   

How can your solution be incorporated into social protection and service delivery systems in West Africa?

• Complement, But Not Replace --- Our solution is designed to complement and/or work alongside existing identification systems. The tokenization capability can be deployed on top of the current digital identity tools and server as an additional measure of security and privacy for multiple use cases where either continued or new use of biometric templates or raw images is too risky, no longer suitable or simply not possible at all.
• Tokenization & Compatibility --- Our services enable work with existing digital identity systems and legacy biometric databases to evaluate, test, and establish methods for integration with Inclusive Identity tokenization transformation tool.   
• Multiple Biometric Vendors --- We have been working with multiple biometric vendors to evaluate “readiness” of their biometric capture and extraction services for the purpose of creation of biometric templates that can be utilized by our solution. We expect to have multiple biometric providers for the same biometric modality, thus offering choice and flexibility.
• Modular Build --- We have designed our solution in a flexible and modular fashion, so that organization and choose between a variety of biometric modalities (i.e. palm, fingerprints, face, iris, etc.) for their respective deployments and use cases. Our modular build also offers ability for decentralized storage of identity tokens vis-à-vis central-only approaches.
• Mobile Software Development Kit (SDK) --- Our mobile SDK can be easily embedded into any existing mobile application to enable on-device enrollment, verification, and identification services; even in the most remote and offline areas. 

Describe how 'user friendly' your solution is to incorporate into social protection programs and delivery systems in West Africa.

• Leverage Existing User Experience --- No significant changes to the enrollment, verification and/or identification processes and workflows are needed. As a complementary solution, Inclusive Identity can operate in the background and support implementation of the existing biometric identification systems. User experience – in many cases – will not be dramatically changed, and the solution will offer the service providers the ability to adjust their mobile applications. 
• Contactless Biometrics & Multiple Modalities --- Depending on various scenarios, contexts, and population of users, Inclusive Identity supports a wide variety of biometric modalities and use of both contactless and contact biometric capture methods. 
• Privacy & Security for Users --- Inclusive Identity as a service can be invoked for specific use cases that require use of biometric tokens rather than encrypted images or encrypted biometric templates. For example, self- or remote authentication at a 3rd party provider (generate token on the spot rather than send an encrypted template over the wire) or embed biometric token in a QR code for remote verification of membership in a support program.
• Mobile App Support --- Inclusive Identity can be deployed as a service, which may be white-labeled and completely embedded into any organization’s mobile app for an outstanding user experience.  

Explain how your solution is interoperable with existing technologies and open standards.

• We mandate that all modalities that vendors provide to the network platform be fixed-length feature vector-based. Data in templates is supposed to be well described and index for consumption by any biometric partner.
• We hope to drive and participate in the global discussion and contribute to the development of open and public guidelines for biometric interoperability.
• There are no globally agreed standards for contactless biometrics
• Given that Inclusive Identity is a capability and not a standalone biometric system, we believe that systems deploying the solution will have the ability to meet several standards, including NIST 800-63 guidelines on digital identity.
• We believe Inclusive Identity is one of very few solutions in the market that significantly advances security & privacy features, as envisioned in the ISO 24745 on Biometric Information Protection
• Examples of open technology standards implemented and/or planned. For example, all data interactions are based on OpenID Connect, OAuth 2.0, JSON Web Tokens, Verifiable Credentials (W3C), JSON-LD, Schema.org, etc.
• Inclusive Identity can work easily with decentralized identity ecosystems like DIDs and/or WebIDs (i.e. Solid) based on global W3C standards.
• In particular, we are planning an integration with the “Solid: Decentralized, Inclusive and User-Centric Digital ID” solution by Inrupt Inc. & Mastercard, which placed 2nd during the inaugural 2019 Mission Billion Challenge (https://solve.mit.edu/challenges/id4d-mission-billion/solutions/5477) 

How does your solution account for low connectivity environments and for users with low literacy and numeracy levels?

• Verification @ Last Mile --- By decentralizing the existing digital identity system, we extend biometric verification to the last mile. Identity tokens can be stored on mobile devices for offline use and/or remote verification.
• Size of the Identity Token --- Due to the small size of tokens (10-20 times smaller than a typical biometric template) the quantity of data stored on local devices or needed to be synced to the cloud is reduced.
• Digital Identity Credentials --- We enable storage of multiple digital credentials (i.e. palm, fingerprints, face, etc.) on smart devices, smart cards, and/or QR codes, and other form factors.
• New Use Cases --- By reducing security and privacy risks, we can facilitate implementation of brand new use cases: (a) identity tokens used by a remote, local pharmacy to disburse medicines on behalf of a larger partner/NGO; (b) creation of single use identity token vaults for one-time aid disbursements; (c) enable individuals to securely delegate a family member to pick up government benefits on their behalf; (d) identity system providers can tokenize biometric images on the spot and only send the tokens over the wire for global deduplication; (e) aid agencies want to protect biometric data from rogue actors.  
• Simple User Experience --- The current user experience with existing digital identity service providers does not need to change. The mobile application for contactless biometric verification and identification is easy to use and intuitive to operate. Users do not need to possess a smart device. 

Select the key characteristics of your target population.

• Informal Sector Workers
• Migrant Workers
• Rural Settings
• Low/No Connectivity Settings
• Poor
• Low-Income
• Middle-Income
• Refugees & Internally Displaced Persons
• Minorities & Previously Excluded Populations
• Stateless Persons
• Nomadic Populations and Pastoralists
• Persons with Disabilities

In which countries will you be operating within the next year?

• Mauritania
• Yemen, Rep.

How many people does your solution currently serve? How many will it serve in one year? In five years?

We anticipate to reach millions of individuals within the next five years. A number of pilots and deployments will be taking place in 2021 across countries on the African continent and beyond. 

What are your goals within the next year and within the next five years?

• Global Scale  --- We believe that the path to global scale depends on the ability to leverage open standards, building on rather than replacing existing infrastructure, and tapping into the devices already present in the hands of many service operators, businesses, and local & regional government offices around the world. Inclusive Identity tools are white-labeled and modular in design, thus can be easily integrated.
• Universal Acceptance --- We aim to enable the widest possible usage of biometric features or physical & digital credentials at any authorized smart device in the world and also via existing biometric vendors. We plan to enable usage of biometric tokenization at every point of service for the Mastercard’s Community Pass platform. 
• Integration with Identity Systems --- We plan to work with the digital identity system providers and national governments (i.e. MOSIP, other ABIS providers, etc.) to extend the system capabilities by introducing biometric tokenization process in addition to the traditional biometrics tools in use today. 

What barriers currently exist for you to accomplish your goals in the next year and in the next five years?

• New Data Privacy & Security Domain --- Tokenization of biometrics is a new domain in the digital identity space, and very different from the domains of biometric templates and raw images. Such data transformation approach needs to be managed and implemented in a responsible fashion, while educating the users and sharing the lessons learned with all stakeholders. 
• Disruption to the Existing Business Models --- Introduction of the tokenization process, which complements existing biometric systems, and requirement for more open and more interoperable input data has the potential to create significant disruption to the existing business models for many biometric vendors. But it also offers an opportunity to innovate and design new products/services based on this emerging technology.
• Lack of Standards for Contactless Biometrics --- Development and adoption of global standards is not a easy feature, and it takes significant amount of time and investment by key stakeholders in the industry. General lack of biometric standards for biometrics (aside from contact fingerprints) further exacerbates the problem. 
• Resistance to Emerging Technology --- As with any new technology, various organizations and stakeholders will choose to remain on the sidelines until the technology is “proven” or otherwise available at the global scale. The ability to test the technology in the field will be critical to overcome the hesitation and learn from the experience. 

How do you plan to overcome these barriers?

• New Data Privacy & Security Domain --- There is a need to a continued dialogue with identity system owners, regulators, and key data privacy stakeholders to evaluate, educate, and continually engage in the discussion around responsible use of biometric tokens for a number of use cases where usage of biometric templates/images is not necessary or carries higher costs, risks, privacy issues, etc.  
• Disruption to the Existing Business Models --- Introduction of the tokenization process may be more quickly embraced by smaller and more nimble biometric vendors and service providers. We plan to engage in dialogue with any digital identity partner about the opportunities that biometric tokenization offers, so that it is rightly viewed as a highly complementary solution.
• Lack of Standards for Contactless Biometrics --- We plan to work with the biometric industry, Biometric Institute, digital identity providers, and key stakeholders to establish and publish transparent guidelines/recommendations for creation of biometric templates that are more easily utilized by various solution providers, including but not limited to TrustStamp, Mastercard, etc.  
• Resistance to Emerging Technology --- We plan to engage with a limited number of partners who value security & privacy-enhancing features of the solution and are interested in testing this new approach to biometric data management. We have also engaged with independent 3rd party to further test and evaluate the technology.  

What type of organization is your solution team?

• Other, including part of a larger organization (please explain below)

If you selected Other, please explain here.

Mastercard’s Humanitarian & Development team is part of the Strategic Growth division at the company. We have been working closely with TrustStamp and AIID Global over the last few years to bring this solution to market and we are collaborating on the development of transparent, open guidelines and recommendations for biometric data inputs. 

How many people work on your solution team?

Full-time --- 5-10 people

Partners --- 5-10 people 

How long have you been working on your solution?

Mastercard has been working with TrustStamp/AIID Global for three years now, albeit the development

Why are you and your team well-positioned to deliver this solution?

Mastercard & AIID Global team have joint background in:

• Global acceptance & interoperability
• Deep expertise in digital identity & biometrics
• Design and implementation of trust & governance networks
• Strong connection to work on global, open standards
• Engagement with multiple organizations and stakeholders in the Humanitarian & Development field 

What organizations do you currently partner with, if any? How are you working with them?

We are exploring partnership opportunities with a number of organizations delivering services in developing countries. 

What is your business model?

Our key customers will be NGOs, aid agencies, governments that are looking for ways to strengthen service delivery, promote wider usage & acceptance of identity credentials, increase privacy, and reduce fraud. 

Some of the key services lacking in today’s market, but which Inclusive Identity enables for clients are: (a) secure verification of identity on a mobile device offline; (b) verification of both program eligibility and identity via QR code; (c) additional security & privacy for remote authentication of beneficiaries; and (d) implementation of appropriate risk-based customer due diligence for most inclusive scenarios in the financial services sector. For example, we can enable and further enhance UNHCR-specific use cases like voluntary return form, “trusted leader”, ownership of digital or physical assets for safe-keeping, etc.

We plan to work with existing biometric vendors to enhance their own B2B service offering to include additional security and privacy measures for specific use cases that target delivery of services at the last mile. The tokenization capability is delivered in form of an API and/or mobile software development kit (SDK) that can be customized by any partner. In many instances, biometric tokenization will support small, medium, and large companies and organizations in delivery of their own services, which require use of biometric verification and identification.

Given the disruptive nature of this solution, winning the 2020 Mission Billion Challenge will help us and our partners to work with all stakeholders in the digital identity ecosystem to create a sustainable, inclusive and fair business model. 

Do you primarily provide products or services directly to individuals, or to other organizations?

• Organizations (B2B)

What is your path to financial sustainability?

Mastercard’s Humanitarian & Development team specialized in design and development of commercially sustainable solutions for the hardest to solve problems around the world. Our objective is to deliver long-term value to the customers while enabling fair conditions for re-investments into the digital ecosystem by all participating members and network partners. We have partnered with AIID Global and biometric vendors like Redrock Biometrics to bring about affordable, low-cost and low maintenance solutions to partners around the world.    

If you have raised funds for your solution or are generating revenue, please provide details.

Additional details will be provided directly to the Mission Billion Challenge team, as needed. 

If you seek to raise funds for your solution, please provide details.

Not applicable

What are your estimated expenses for 2020?

Additional details will be provided directly to the Mission Billion Challenge team, as needed. 

Why are you applying to the Mission Billion Challenge WURI West Africa Prize?

The World Bank’s ID4D community is uniquely placed to:

• Develop sustainable use cases for both private & public sectors that will allow for individuals to become active participants in the increasingly digital global economy 
• Embrace and pioneer new technologies and policies that bring unprecedented level of access, inclusion, security and privacy for individuals
• Promote collaboration on biometric interoperability and open standards & practical guidelines for digital identity ecosystems 

In which of the following areas do you most need partners or support?

• Business model
• Legal or regulatory matters

Please explain in more detail here.

• Business Model --- Introduction of the new, disruptive technology like Inclusive Identity and biometric tokens has the potential to upend the existing service delivery of digital identity tools that leverage biometrics. We would like to work with all partners in the ecosystem to identify opportunities for value-add and shared engagement.   
• Legal and Regulatory Matters --- Engagement by stakeholders on the issues of security and privacy, as well as 3rd party, independent evaluations, legal opinions, and responsible data management practices will be key to establishing trust in the tokenized biometrics domain. 

What organizations would you like to partner with, and how would you like to partner with them?

What if there was a way to create a shared, secure, privacy-enhancing, and cost-effective digital identity infrastructure at the last mile?  A collaborative identity service that would operate on any smart device, be based on open standards, and be an inclusive choice for all – even the most marginalized communities in the world, including individuals who do not have a verified identity or foundational/national ID documents. A service that would enable all individuals to subscribe to government and social protection programs.

We welcome an opportunity to further engage via ID4D World Bank forum with various organizations, stakeholder and participants in the digital identity sector, including, but not limited to: UN Agencies, academic institutions, Gates Foundation, various identification system providers, MOSIP initiative, NGOs, etc.