A New Digital Experience Powered by TRIDENT
Five everyday situations, and what changes in each when identity can be confirmed instead of documented.
Descriptions of digital identity tend to stay abstract. It's easier to see the point in specific situations.
So here are five, drawn from things people and organisations in Barbados deal with regularly. In each case, the difference comes from one shift: identity being confirmed at the moment it's needed, rather than documented in advance and checked by hand.
Some of what follows is available now. Some arrives as the programme progresses.
Proving who you are
Today. Online, you answer questions about yourself so the service can match you to its records. In person, you hand over your card and someone reads it and types the details in.
With TRIDENT. Online, you sign in with your TRIDENT identity and the service knows it's you, with your identity details confirmed on your approval rather than asked for. In person, your card is read electronically and the same confirmed details arrive without transcription.
The same identity, through two different doors, producing the same result.
Proving where you live
Today. A service asks for proof of address. You look for a recent utility bill, or get a document certified. Someone examines it, decides whether it's acceptable, and files a copy.
With TRIDENT. The service asks to confirm your address. You approve the request. It receives the address held in the National Register, confirmed, with nothing to examine and nothing to file.
Note what this doesn't do: it doesn't update anything on your behalf. If you move, you still notify the institutions concerned. What changes is that each one can confirm the current address rather than asking you to evidence it again.
Signing something that has to be signed
Today. A form arrives that needs a signature. You find a printer, sign it, scan it, and send it back. Or you take a morning off and deliver it in person.
With TRIDENT. The form is presented on screen. You authorise the signature. It comes back complete, with evidence that can be verified later by anyone who needs to check it.
Proving a qualification or an entitlement
Today. You gather certified copies. The organisation receiving them contacts the issuing body to confirm they're genuine, which takes as long as that exchange takes.
With TRIDENT. The institution that issued the qualification can issue it as a digital credential you hold. When you present it, the receiving organisation can confirm on the spot that it's genuine and current, without contacting anyone.
Bringing on a new customer
Today. An organisation collects identity documents, checks them as well as it can, keys the details into its systems, and then has to store those copies securely for as long as its obligations require.
With TRIDENT. Identity is confirmed through the national identity layer, with the customer's consent. The organisation receives details it can rely on, and holds far less material it has to protect.
The pattern underneath
In all five, the same three things happen. You stop supplying evidence you've already supplied. The organisation stops making judgement calls about documents. And the information that arrives is confirmed at the source rather than transcribed from paper.
None of this changes who decides anything. Whether you qualify, what happens next, and how a process runs stay entirely with the institution responsible for it.
Which capabilities make this possible?
The article Building Blocks: What Services Can Use from TRIDENT sets out each capability and how services combine them.