We'd like to reflect on last week's STA (Secure Technology Alliance) Identity and Payment Summit, held in San Diego, where we hosted a panel session about convergence of digital identities and payments.

The event proved to be a pivotal event for professionals in the identity, access, and payments sectors. Here are some of the key takeaways:

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Convergence of identity and payments

A dominant theme was the increasing convergence of identity and payments technologies. This highlights how secure digital identity is becoming fundamental to seamless and secure transactions across various industries.

Discussions emphasized the need for interoperable and standardized solutions to facilitate this convergence.

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Emphasis on Digital Identity and Mobile Driver's Licenses (mDLs)

The summit featured an exclusive mDL Technology Showcase, reflecting the growing importance of digital credentials. Sessions explored real-world applications of mDLs in areas such as banking, age verification, and identity verification, signaling their potential to revolutionize identity management. 

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This Q&A session, hosted by Maxim Dyachenko explored the convergence of digital identity and payments, highlighting the global push for interoperability and standardization. Panelists Sherif Samy (Fime), Teresa Wu (Idemia), Maeson Maherry (Ascertia), Andreas Aabye (Visa), and Tobias Looker (MATTR) discussed varying ecosystem development across regions, from advanced implementations in Australia/NZ to ongoing pilots in the US and design-focused efforts in the EU.  

Key topics included the role of mDLs and digital credentials in streamlining authentication and verification processes, the challenges of achieving a seamless "one-tap" experience, and the importance of technical standards like ISO14443 and ISO18013-5.  

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The session emphasized the need for collaboration and certification to achieve global-scale interoperability, with a focus on use cases like age verification, account opening, and leveraging digital payment technologies like passkeys and FIDO.

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Security in the digital era

With the rise of cyber threats, security remained a top priority. Discussions centered on advanced authentication methods, including biometrics and tokenization, to protect sensitive data.

Post-Quantum Cryptography was a topic of interest, showing the need for future proofing security systems.

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Open payments and contactless technology

The future of contactless open payments, particularly in transportation, was a key focus. 

Innovations in "Tap to Phone" technology and the integration of mobile identity in payment systems were also highlighted. 

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AI's impact

The summit addressed the influence of generative AI on digital identity and authentication. This shows that the industry is aware of the need to understand how AI can both help and hinder security.

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Regulatory and standardization updates

Attendees received updates on payment standards from organizations like EMVCo, FIDO Alliance, W3C, and nexo, ensuring they stay informed about evolving regulations and standardization.

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