Hong Kong and UK Plan Digital Business IDs

In order to make businesses easy and without fraud, Hong Kong is planning to introduce Digital Corporate Identity Platform – CorpID by the end of 2026, its Secretary for Innovation, Technology and Industry Sun Dong said.

The platform would provide corporate identity authentication, allowing firms to pre-fill forms and store digital licenses and permits. CorpID would also help companies access government services and conduct business transactions.

Sun Dong also revealed that Hong Kong’s smartphone biometrics-based digital identity platform iAM Smart has reached over 3.3 million registered users since its launch in 2020.

The government is also expecting to make all of its services including an electronic driving license (eDL) accessible through the platform by the end of next year. It is also currently amending the Road Traffic Bill to allow the city’s 2.5 million drivers to obtain mDLs through the iAM Smart app and the Transport Department’s e-Licensing Portal.

Last year, the Financial Services Development Council (FSDC), a government-funded advisory body, said that digital ID will be crucial for Hong Kong’s strategy to become a leading international financial centre.

UK Too

Even the UK is exploring a digital company ID that could strengthen the country’s financial sector, the UK Minister of AI and Digital Government Feryal Clark said.

The government has been exploring a digital company identification scheme – Digital Company ID – as a business version of the GOV.UK Wallet, a digital wallet that allows British residents to verify their identity. The platform would help confirm a company is real through verifiable data points and credentials in order to prevent fraud.

According to Clark, the financial crime has a huge impact not only on individual businesses but on the country’s wider economy and that’s why it was so crucial that organisations up and down the country continue to innovate –harnessing technology to make their financial protections stronger than ever.

The business verification initiative comes amid changing regulations for businesses operating in the UK.

Starting in Autumn 2025, anyone setting up, running, owning, or controlling a company in the UK, namely directors and persons with significant control (PSCs), will be required to verify their identity. Company directors and PSCs can already voluntarily verify their identity through Gov.uk One Login or an Authorised Corporate Service Provider (ACSP).

The Digital Company ID would also slash red tape and boost productivity, the Minister said during an industry summit organised by the Centre for Finance, Innovation and Technology (CFIT) and software company Sage last week.

The partly government-funded group has been advocating for the adoption of Digital Company ID as a tool to fight economic crime and boost the smart data economy.

CFIT has been developing a prototype of the Digital Company ID app with the help of 70 entities including many banks.

It has also published a white paper analysing the UK’s legislative and regulatory readiness for the identification tool last month claiming they could add a little over $775 million annually to the UK economy.

During the event, CFIT also discussed introducing data sharing through collaboration with the industry and the government., introducing standards for interoperability and launching pilots to test the Digital Company ID.

Chi Onwurah, chair of the House of Commons Science, Innovation and Technology Select Committee, said that financial services have been a priority sector for the adoption of digital identities.