Egypt has taken a significant step forward in its push for digitization, following reports of an upcoming digital ID system designed to enhance financial inclusion metrics.
According to a report, Egypt’s Central Bank has unveiled a website indicating the imminent launch of a mobile app to expedite digital ID verification for customers of financial institutions. Dubbed Haweya, the incoming mobile app will serve as a digital wallet containing residents’ biometric data and user information for financial services use cases.
Haweya will support remote digital Know Your Customer (KYC) services, sidestepping the traditional paper-based and error-prone manual verifications. Furthermore, Haweya will enable bank account opening for over 35 banks in Egypt while supporting seamless access to telecoms services.
The website disclosure reveals that Haweya utilizes fingerprint and facial biometrics, along with advanced digital signatures, to protect user data.
Upon launch, key financial sector players are tipping Haweya to improve Egypt’s financial inclusion metrics by targeting underserved rural populations. The main selling point for the Haweya app is its ability to allow citizens to open bank accounts without the need to visit physical store locations.
Apart from jolting financial inclusion in remote locations, Haweya CEO Tamer Gadalla noted that the commercial rollout will bring Egypt closer to its digitization goals. Currently, Egypt’s financial inclusion rate stands at 76%, with only 53 million adults having access to a bank account, which is well above the regional average of less than 55%.
The North African country is eyeing regional supremacy in artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain, and Internet of Things (IoT) technology. Amid plans for digitization, Egypt is moving forward with the launch of a central bank digital currency (CBDC) before the end of the decade.
Finance use cases spike
The digital ID utility in finance has surged since the start of the year, with enterprises keen on adopting next-generation technologies to keep pace with industry pioneers. The United Nations (UN) is piloting blockchain-based digital IDs for pensioners, using smart contracts and facial biometrics.
Among countries, financial use cases for digital IDs are also growing, with Pakistan and Brunei extending utility to KYC and AML compliance processes. Others are pushing the frontier with novel use cases in policing, aid to individuals with disabilities, academic verification, and healthcare applications.
Back to the top ↑
Germany inches closer to quantum-secure ID cards
Under the hood, Bundesdruckerei Gruppe relied on advanced chips made by Infineon, which supported Post-Quantum Cryptography (PQC) algorithms. The new PQC algorithm demonstrated promise in combining classical and post-quantum cryptography for national ID cards, setting the pace for a mainstream rollout.
Kim Nguyen, Senior VP of Innovation at Bundesdruckei Gruppe, disclosed that the PoC will lay the foundation for protecting the hardware and software components of German ID cards. Nguyen disclosed that the government plans to make the pivot to quantum-resistant ID cards in two phases, with protecting personal data being the first milestone and a full transition in the coming years.
“Bundesdruckerei and G+D are the first in Germany to demonstrate that highly secure, quantum-resistant cryptography, covering both encryption and authentication, can be implemented on ID chips,” said Nguyen.
Germany’s latest push into quantum-resistant cryptography comes amid a broader European Union effort to take preemptive steps to protect its ID systems. In June, the EU unveiled a roadmap for member countries to adopt PQC by the end of the decade, amid concerns about increasing quantum risks.
EU officials are taking a cautious stance, working frenetically with the assumption that quantum computers will be able to break cryptographic algorithms by 2030.
“Equipping ID card chips with post-quantum cryptography is essential, as we must assume that by 2030, quantum computers will be capable of breaking today’s cryptographic algorithms,” said Plattner. “By then, governments must be ready to issue quantum-secure ID cards.”
While legacy systems are under threat from quantum computing innovation, blockchain enthusiasts are raising concerns about their collective future. Fears that quantum computing will compromise Bitcoin key signatures have reached a fever pitch, with a cross-section of experts predicting the first real threats within a 10- to 20-year window.
Ethereum has launched plans to remain a quantum-resistant ledger, while BTC enthusiasts are pushing to harden the BTC network via protocol upgrades and quantum-safe cryptography. Meanwhile, India has launched its first full-stack quantum computing system, with Google (NASDAQ: GOOGL) and IBM (NASDAQ: IBM) racing for technological dominance.
Back to the top ↑
Watch: Digital identity, digital assets enable Web3
