New Ukraine Diia digital ID is a hit with citizens
11 May, 2020
category: Digital ID, Government
The Ukraine Diia app is providing one of the latest examples of how demand for national digital ID programs keeps growing around the globe. According to reports, the Eastern European country’s recently launched “Diia” mobile app has already been downloaded by at least 1 million Ukrainian citizens, even though the program has yet to offer its full range of planned use cases.
The Ukrainian government designed the Diia mobile ID program to “serve as the main channel of digital communication between the government and the country’s citizens,” according to an analysis from AtlanticCouncil.org. The government officially launched the digital ID app early in 2020.
New Ukraine Diia functions are coming
Diia functions for now are few, and include digital drivers’ licenses and ID authentication for airline flights within the country. Newer uses cases, according to reports and statements from the Ukrainian government, will involve the issuance of digital passports, among other functions. Digital signatures and authentication for business transactions or contracts could also be a part of the Diia future.
More than 360,000 Ukrainian citizens downloaded digital drivers’ licenses in the first week
Indeed, officials in Ukraine — like their peers in other parts of the world — reportedly have used Estonia, among the world’s digital ID and authentication leaders, as an ideal to which Ukraine should aspire. Estonia has moved voting, tax payments and a host of other activities online in recent years.
Early results from the initial months of the Ukraine Diia digital ID program offer encouragement for the program’s future and popularity. More than 360,000 citizens, for instance, downloaded digital drivers’ licenses within the first week of the mobile app’s launch, according to AtlanticCouncil.org. But that rush of activity speaks to, at the least, the high interest among citizens and mainstream consumers for the efficiencies that national digital ID services can bring to daily living.
“This strong response confirms the huge appetite for digitalization within Ukrainian society, especially among younger Ukrainians,” reads the analysis from AtlanticCouncil.org. “The popularity of digital solutions among Ukraine’s hipster generation should not fool anyone into dismissing the ‘country in a smartphone’ initiative as a mere gimmick or a fleeting fashion.”
The hopes that are being attached to the Diia digital ID program do not stop with the initial list of government services. “Digitalization has the potential to become an unrivaled tool for change,” the analysis said. “Indeed, it should arguably be the number one priority for anyone who is genuinely interested in Ukraine’s progression towards greater rule of law, stronger property rights, and the fight against corruption.”
