It’s official: IDnow Trust Services AB is now certified as a Qualified Trust Service Provider (QTSP) in the EU. We sat down with the Chief Executive Officer of IDnow Trust Services AB, Johannes Leser and Registration Officer of IDnow Trust Services AB, Uwe Pfizenmaier to learn more.
In early 2024, IDnow began a joint venture with system integrator and technology provider, ESYSCO to establish the newly formed QTSP, IDnow Trust Services AB. In October it was officially approved by PTS, the Swedish supervisory body, and is now listed as a QTSP on the eIDAS Dashboard by the European Commission.
This significant milestone allows IDnow to offer a wide range of eIDAS-compliant digital signing solutions and ultimately offer trust services to our customers. For more information, check out our interview with Uwe and Johannes below.
For those who may not be familiar with the term, what exactly is a QTSP?
Johannes: A Qualified Trust Service Provider, or QTSP for short, is an entity that can create one or more trust services, such as electronic signatures, electronic time stamps, electronic seals or certificates in a qualified manner. What differentiates a QTSP from a Trust Service Provider is that it operates under stricter measurements and requirements as defined by the Electronic Identification and Trust Services (eIDAS), is independently assessed in regular audits by a conformity assessment body (CAB) and is required to have insurance due to reversed burden of proof in case of any disputes.
Uwe: By using a QTSP, businesses benefit from an extra layer of security knowing that the products they choose are officially certified and audited by a higher authority. Although qualified trust services may or may not be required depending on the type of security an organization needs and the requirements of the country in which it operates, by choosing to do business with a QTSP, a higher level of confidence in security is achieved.
What services will IDnow Trust Services AB offer?
Johannes: As a QTSP, IDnow Trust Services AB can provide the following for now:
- Issue, validate and manage qualified electronic certificates for signatures and seals.
- Deliver additional services such as qualified time stamps.
- Persist identification evidence data.
- Execute certificate revocation.
Why will QTSPs be so important in the future of the digital signature market?
Uwe: 72% of organizations in Europe still use a mix of paper and electronic documents. Despite this, the trend toward a fully digital signing process is just around the corner. In fact, the European digital signature market is predicted to be 7x times larger by 2030.
As QTSPs are verified services under strict eIDAS regulations and requirements, they guarantee their customers a significant level of trust and security to adopt new solutions like digital signatures. Before becoming a QTSP, the entity is required to undergo rigorous and independent assessment as well as regular audits to ensure they remain compliant. As such, QTSPs offer greater legal certainty and higher security for electronic transactions and meet the same level of trust as paper documents.
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What did the process of becoming a QTSP entail, specifically in relation to regulatory requirements?
Johannes: To become a QTSP, a full understanding of the eIDAS regulation is crucial. eIDAS offers a uniform framework of guidelines to allow completely digital and legally secure cross-border contracts within the EU. It also defines the process and technology behind different types of services such as signatures, seals, time stamps, etc.
Uwe: In order to qualify as a QTSP, the entity must ensure all legal and regulatory obligations are met, such as data protection and privacy requirements. Once established, the eIDAS assessment process is initiated with a CAB and an audit is carried out. After successfully passing the audit, a QTSP application is submitted with a supervisory body. Upon acceptance, the QTSP is published on the EU Trust List.
What sets IDnow Trust Services AB apart from other QTSPs?
Johannes: IDnow Trust Services AB is the first QTSP to offer SMS-free signing for digital contract signing. During the average digital signing process, users receive a One-Time Password (OTP) code that must be entered to authenticate the transaction. This step usually causes friction for users and companies, leading to 22% of drop offs coming from the OTP identification.
SMS-free signing dramatically simplifies the signing process, eliminating the heavy-friction requirement of OTP codes and driving higher conversion rates. Plus, by eliminating the SMS step, fraud and operational risk is significantly reduced.
What advantages does the creation of IDnow Trust Services AB offer to IDnow customers?
Uwe: The combination of IDnow’s leading identity verification expertise and IDnow Trust Services AB’s advanced trust services will deliver unmatched value and secure, yet agile, solutions, including Qualified Electronic Signatures to future-proof businesses in a rapidly changing regulatory landscape.
Key benefits include being able to easily navigate complex regulations like AMLD 6 and eIDAS. As electronic certificates are legally binding and dispute-protected, it can also help to reduce the risks of digital transactions in the EU. Plus, due to the Europe-wide validity of trust services, customers can now leverage IDnow’s pan-European approach to provide seamless, consistent services for cross-border growth.
Johannes: By combining identity verification services with secure trust services, IDnow not only creates optimized processes, but offers unparalleled reliability and boosts confidence and trust in every transaction.
As customers can perform identity verification and trust services from a single, unified and simplified process, they can benefit from streamlined procurement and contractual simplicity.
What does the future look like for IDnow Trust Services AB?
Uwe: As an eIDAS-certified QTSP, the outlook is very bright. The sky is the limit, especially regarding innovation. In the future, we hope to expand our product offerings and features as well as certifications.
Johannes: In 2025, our plan is to equip more products with our QTSP features and explore new business use cases. Additionally, we plan on achieving another certification based on an audit that will support the forthcoming EUDI Wallet. Lastly, we plan to offer future-proof services such as QEAA (Qualified Electronic Attestation of Attributes) and advanced preservation solutions, all without sacrificing regulatory compliance. We are looking forward to the upcoming year and the many innovations we plan for our customers!
Learn more about our range of digital signature solutions here.
By
Kristen Walter
Jr. Content Marketing Manager
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