The UAE Pass includes a ‘digital vault’, powered by blockchain technology, for storing users’ digital documents and sharing them with government departments for completing their transactions quickly without the need to provide paper documents. Users can request a digital version of their official documents and use them securely, to get services from service providers when needed. This feature eliminates the need for physical documents and visits, saving you time and effort.
Innovation Summary
Innovation Overview
Despite digital transformation efforts in public and private services, there is a lack of trust in identities and documents submitted online to obtain services. Moreover, documents submitted online are in fact scanned copies of physical documents and lack authenticity. Furthermore, regulations enforce citizens to be physically present to verify their identities and present their original physical documents to avail of services, which impacts the customer experiences.
With an effective use of a Blockchain ecosystem, Digital-Vault aims to ensure availability of authentic digital documents, enable users to request and share them with service providers and ensures trust across all parties resulting in a seamless digital experience. Digital-Vault customer segments are UAE Citizens and Residents, enabling them to seamlessly have access to digital documents and share them; Document Issuing Entities, enabling them to issue the documents; and Service Providers, allowing them to offer services.
Digital-Vault enables users to request and share official digital documents to avail of services online. A key innovative factor is that Digital-Vault is part of an ecosystem which includes the National Digital Identity (UAE-PASS) and Digital Trusted Documents system (UAE-Verify). The compounded effect of having verified digital identifies coupled with a means to access trusted digital documents while empowering service providers with the capability to verify documents resulted in the complete elimination of the need for physical identity verification, the need for physical document citation, providing higher data quality and enabling service automation.
Blockchain technology provided Digital-Vault with the ability to ensure immutable records of transactions resulting in creating trust across service providers and users. Resulting in increasing the digital security of national data and reducing operational costs by reducing paper transactions. The Digital-Vault is part of an ecosystem which includes the National Digital Identity (UAE-PASS) and Digital Trusted Documents system (UAE-Verify). The compounded effect of having verified digital identifies coupled with a means to access trusted digital documents while empowering service providers with the capability to verify documents resulted in the complete elimination of the need for physical identity verification and the need for physical document citation.
Design thinking sessions with different organizations resulted in establishing partnerships between government and private sectors leading to an increase in adoption of Digital Vault as well as following international standards, such as W3C Verifiable Credential specification, eIDAS standard, Quorum Blockchain and is GDPR compliant in ensuring interoperability. Digital Vault's environmental contribution and alignment with the SDs is measured by the elimination of the need to print 33.4 million documents and the need for in-person visits to service centers. This saves around 4,000 trees per year, and reduces the CO2 emissions by 76,000 tons per year.
Innovation Description
What Makes Your Project Innovative?
The Digital-Vault is part of an ecosystem which includes the National Digital Identity (UAE-PASS) and Digital Trusted Documents system (UAE-Verify). The compounded effect of having verified digital identifies coupled with a means to access trusted digital documents while empowering service providers with the capability to verify documents has resulted in the complete elimination of the need for physical identity verification and physical document citation, providing higher data quality and enabling service automation. Design thinking sessions with different organizations resulted in establishing partnerships between government and private sectors leading to an increase in the adoption of Digital Vault.
What is the current status of your innovation?
Digital Vault improved citizen experience by enabling them to request and share official digital documents to obtain online services anywhere and anytime.
Innovation Development
Collaborations & Partnerships
Digital Vault is also connected to service providers from the financial sectors including banks and exchanges, resulting in services such as opening bank accounts, profile verification, and new user registration. In 2019, the UAE's central bank approved Digital Vault as the golden source of data/documents for all service providers and mandated banks and financial institutions to accept documents within Digital Vault as equivalent to physical documents eliminating the need for physical verification.
Users, Stakeholders & Beneficiaries
- Prime Minster office
- UAE Citizens
- Private Sector (Banks in Particular)
Innovation Reflections
Results, Outcomes & Impacts
Digital Vault contributed to the effectiveness of the government workforce and operations by saving 21.9 million work hours, and 3.5 billion dirhams annually spent on employees productivity time, printing documents, and cost of transportation and physical citations. Digital Vault's environmental contribution and alignment with the SDs is measured by the elimination of the need to print 33.4 million documents and the need for in-person visits to service centers. This saves around 4,000 trees per year, and reduces the CO2 emissions by 76,000 tons per year.
Digital Vault improved citizen experience by enabling them to request and share official digital documents to avail of online services anywhere and anytime. Digital Vault's economic impact and ROI were realized by exponential increase in digital document sharing (236,000+) across service providers and users. In the financial sector, over 80,000 new bank accounts were opened for customers online without visiting the bank physically.
Conditions for Success
In 2019, the UAE's central bank has approved Digital Vault as the golden source of data/documents for all service providers and mandated banks and financial institutions to accept document within Digital Vault as equivalent to physical documents eliminating the need for physical verification.
In March 2021, the UAE Prime Minister's Office has mandated government entities to onboard their services on digital vault and to accept all digital documents via Digital Vault as equivalent to the original and authentic document making Digital Vault is a key national initiative in the UAE with the ambition to achieve a paperless digital society.
Replication
Digital Vault's next target is to include new sectors such as insurance, education, health, and judicial. For examples one of the current targets is to have 45% increase in service provider’s adoption in the identified priority sectors by September 2023. Digital Vault plans to introduce many new features to accommodate the sectors requirements as well as UAE visions and strategies. Some of these features include delegation, chain of attestation, pear to pear document sharing and visitors profile support. Other features are expected to be developed as more sectors are introduced. On an international level, collaboration & knowledge sharing is ongoing with members within the European Union, and expert interviews with experts across the globe were conducted different topics including emerging technologies and policies. In addition, being part of INTABA (International Association for Trusted Blockchain Applications) has provided us with global access to members and different topics.
Lessons Learned
A marketing plan shall be done in a manner to include all types of citizens, such as people of determination, elder people, and non-Arabic & English speakers.
Supporting Videos
Status:
- Implementation - making the innovation happen
- Evaluation - understanding whether the innovative initiative has delivered what was needed
- Diffusing Lessons - using what was learnt to inform other projects and understanding how the innovation can be applied in other ways
Innovation provided by:
Date Published:
22 November 2023