Hon Brooke van Velden
Minister of Internal Affairs

Minister of Internal Affairs Brooke van Velden says the Government is making it easier for businesses to verify the identity of their staff and customers by simplifying the process to be approved for the RealMe Identity Verification Service.

“Many businesses, including financial service providers and educational institutes, are required to verify the identity of their customers. The RealMe service allows people to do this through a simple digital login, rather than providing their passport or driver licence details which must then be manually verified,” says Ms van Velden.

Currently, organisations that want to use RealMe have to be approved by Cabinet in a lengthy sign-off process. This change will allow them to be automatically granted access by the Department of Internal Affairs, as long as they meet the requirements such as compliance with the Privacy Act.

“This simplified identification process can provide significant cost and time savings for people who need to identity themselves for a service, as well as helping the organisaitons to meet their compliance obligations, including anti-money laundering requirements.”

MyMahi, a tertiary education provider, received access to RealMe last year. Matt Webb, MyMahi Partnership Director, said at the time “working together can shorten the process from over a month to ten minutes. This innovation can be life changing for students and their whānau.”

“More than 1.5 million New Zealanders have verified RealMe identities which can be used to open a bank account, renew a passport, and access core Government services such as the Inland Revenue Department. It’s pleasing to see the private sector offer this service to the public too.

The change is being made through the Internal Affairs Regulatory Systems Amendment Bill that will be introduced to Parliament later this year.

For more information on RealMe IVS and a guide to sign up for access please visit: https://www.realme.govt.nz/. For businesses looking to adopt the RealMe IVS service please contact business@realme.govt.nz for advisory and integration support.

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