The world might be growing smaller and more connected but regulations and authentication methods can create issues for international businesses looking to expand globally Now companies and even governments from the US to the UK to Indonesia are working to develop new digital identity tools that can ease these challenges and push international businesses forward In the latest Digital Identity Tracker PYMNTS takes a look at digital identity credential developments around the world Around The Digital ID World In Europe multiple countries in the British Isles are working to create new digital identity platforms and credentials The United Kingdoms Department for Digital Culture Media Sport for one is proposing changes to the countrys digital identity platform which would open government databases to private sector organizations via an application programming interface API This new system would offer improved access to identity verification information which could be used by businesses and the government to authenticate transactions and prevent fraud or cyberattacks Scotland meanwhile is looking to distributed ledger technologies DLTs to develop secure digital identity credentials The Blockpass Identity Lab a blockchain and distributed ledger research and development center recently opened its doors on the Merchiston Campus of Scotlands Edinburgh Napier University This center part of an ongoing partnership between the university and Hong Kong-based Blockpass IDN makes Scotland the home to what some are calling the worlds first blockchain identity laboratory Europe isnt alone in its pursuit of digitizing identification though just ask Indonesia The countrys government recently announced a partnership with California-based firm Everest Technologies The pair will create a digital identity program that will improve the countrys National LPG Subsidy Program which assists 41 million citizens with heating and other utilities by making it more efficient transparent and inclusive To read more about these stories and find the rest of the latest headlines from around the space check out the Trackers News and Trends section Onboarding And Authenticating A Global User Base As international governments work to digitize identity credentials their citizens are looking to make purchases online from retailers around the world particularly in the US Theyre often not able to do so however without access to debit cards or other forms of payment trusted by these merchants Now the companies tasked with moving money across the globe are working to solve the complicated challenge of quickly onboarding a worldwide user base and protecting the payments they make In a recent interview with PYMNTS Tern Commerce CEO Brion Bonkowski explained why the company needed to adopt a solution to authenticate new customers quickly Were onboarding companies from 100 different countries and for all our reloadable accounts we require document uploads he said From an operational standpoint a big part of it was about trying to drill down on the cost About The Tracker The Digital Identity Tracker produced in collaboration with Jumio is a forum for framing and addressing key issues and trends faced by the entities charged with efficiently and securely identifying and granting permission to individuals to access purchase transact or otherwise confirm their identities