The Ministry of Digital Affairs yesterday said that it aims to launch a trial of a digital wallet by the end of this year and that it would accommodate multiple identification documents in one platform.
Aside from banks and insurance firms, the ministry said it hopes that supermarket chain operators could also participate in the trial.
Like a real wallet that a person uses to carry their ID card, National Health Insurance card and other identification documents, the digital wallet would be designed to accommodate multiple cards in one platform, the ministry said.
Photo: Hsu Tzu-ling, Taipei Times
If the digital wallet can be connected to citizen digital certificates and the national health insurance card systems, people could just carry their smartphones when they leave the house, it said.
To win people’s trust in the digital wallet, the ministry would fully disclose the code to the public, Department of Digital Cooperation Director-General Chuang Ying-chih (莊盈志) said.
“This would let the public know two things: first, the operation of the digital wallet does not violate human rights; second, disclosing the program code would allow the public to test and identify problems with the digital wallet and make it safer to use,” Chuang said.
“If hackers can breach the digital wallet, it means the system has problems. Instead of having such problems circulating among hackers, we might as well make the program code public and let everyone have a chance to bolster the safety of the system,” he said.
The types of ID that the digital wallet could carry in the initial phase would probably include citizen digital certificates, business certificates of corporations and certificates of professional skills, Chuang said.
The ministry would try to connect the digital wallet to the systems for driver’s licenses and national health insurance cards, he said.
The digital wallet project has been warmly received by banks and insurance firms, as it would greatly save the time and resources they spend in verifying the identities of their customers, Chuang said.
The system would also help people when they pick up items purchased online at convenience stores, he said.
“Consumers need to present their ID cards. To accumulate points in their membership accounts, they need to give their phone number and must verify it on screen. This could lead to leaks of personal data. We will try to allow consumers to use the digital wallet in convenience stores,” he said.
The digital wallet is to be tested in a sandbox in next month and a trial version is expected to be launched in December, the ministry said.
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