A trusted digital identity at the heart of process digitization

Today, itsme® and LuxTrust, each in their respective markets, share the same vision of a national high-performance digital ecosystem supported by a unique digital identity. This identity proves in the digital world that users are who they say they are, and allows them to confirm and sign their online transactions with the highest level of confidence in a wide range of areas: government, healthcare, banking and insurance, communications, energy, human resources and temporary work. 

The launch of a Belgo-Luxembourg digital ecosystem

Together, the two companies want to offer a fully interoperable solution to the EU market with the highest level of assurance. The objective is to create a Belgo-Luxembourg digital identity ecosystem, creating value for citizens, businesses and institutions in both countries. This interoperability is made possible because both parties are qualified trust service providers (eIDAS) recognised by the European Union. Itsme® was even recognized as a digital identity by the Belgian government in January 2018 and at a high European level in December 2019. The use of the itsme® application is widespread in Belgium, like LuxTrust in Luxemburg, in the financial sector among others because it meets all required levels of compliance.

“The emergence of a trusted international digital ecosystem will only occur through the interoperability of digital identities,” explains Pascal Rogiest, CEO of LuxTrust. “Today, we are proud to establish the first concrete model of such interoperability in Belgium and Luxembourg through our partnership with itsme®. We believe that this partnership brings unparalleled business value to Belgian and Luxembourg banks and companies which can then consider a single identity management solution for operations in two countries. The integration of itsme® into LuxTrust’s solutions, which now cover the entire Luxembourg ecosystem, now allows us to offer our solutions to professional operators in Belgium, thus reinforcing LuxTrust’s international development, after France last month.”

“Europe is being built in real terms through its daily activities”, says Kris De Ryck, CEO of Belgian Mobile ID. “After the success of the Belgian digital identity itsme®, launched just 2.5 years ago (more than 1.6 million Belgians, or 20% of the population, already use itsme® and generate 5 million transactions per month), it is clear that itsme® now has a place outside the borders of Belgium. Indeed, the application offers real added value in a society which is becoming more and more digital every day. The adaptability of itsme® to all ecosystems, its compliance with European regulations (eIDAS, GDPR, FATF and PSD2), its safety and its ease of use are the key elements for international development. So we are pleased to strengthen the European facet of our application through our cooperation with LuxTrust.”

Integration in several stages

This integration is a European first and will take place in several stages.

The first has already been completed, by making the authentication and signing of electronic documents possible using an itsme® identity for customers of LuxTrust’s electronic signature solution, COSI. LuxTrust users can already create an itsme® identity today (so far, users equipped with a LuxTrust Scan). The itsme® application is available from the AppStore and Google Play.

The second stage of the operation starts today, and will allow Luxembourg companies using LuxTrust platforms to offer their customers itsme® as one of the means to authenticate and confirm their transactions, and even later to generate a LuxTrust digital signature.

The first Luxembourg bank to offer itsme® The Banque de Luxembourg, LuxTrust partner for the adoption of innovative authentication solutions, is the first Luxembourg bank to have deployed LuxTrust solutions in Belgium. It will also be the first Luxembourg bank to accept the itsme® digital identity of its customers residing in Belgium to access the Bank’s online services, with the aim of achieving full interoperability and functional complementarity between itsme® solutions and LuxTrust’s native solutions. “We are delighted with this Belgo-Luxembourg cooperation, which provides high value-added solutions for our clients as well as for the Bank in our two key markets, in an area as vital as that of digital identity,” concludes Romain Weiler, Member of the Management Board and COO of the Banque de Luxembourg.

 

About itsme®

Since 2017, the itsme® application has been the safe and easy reference for mobile identification and privacy in the digital world. itsme® allows you to perform the following tasks: identification (creating a new online account and sharing identity data), authentication (secure and personal access to a website or application), confirmation of an operation (confirming an order or a bank payment for example) and, finally, legal electronic signature of a document (the qualified electronic signature enjoying the highest level of security).

itsme® was recognised as a digital identity by the Belgian government in January 2018 and at European level in December 2019 (LoA high eIDAS). The application is widely used in the financial sector, among others, because it complies with the PSD2, FATF and GDPR directives and has also been awarded ISO27001 certification.

itsme® was developed by the Belgian Mobile ID consortium, which brings together the seven Belgian market leaders in the banking and telecommunications sectors: Belfius, BNP Paribas Fortis, CBC/KBC & ING on the one hand and Orange Belgium, Proximus & Telenet on the other.

itsme®, the security of the electronic identity card transposed into the mobile world

About the Banque de Luxembourg

The Banque de Luxembourg has been operating as a private bank in the Grand Duchy since 1920 and is one of the largest asset managers in the country. At the service of enterprising clients and families, it stands at their side at important moments in their lives to keep a constant watch over their assets and thus contribute to the implementation of projects which they can implement in complete confidence. As at 31 December 2018, the Banque de Luxembourg had EUR 1 billion in equity capital, more than 970 employees and a profit of 62 million euros.