Equifax on Thursday introduced its first information card, or 'I-card' — the Equifax Over-18 card.
I-cards are designed to be the online equivalent of a driver's licence, passport or similar ID. The idea is customers would have an electronic wallet with various information cards that would allow them to bypass typing in user names and passwords when online.
In this case, the Equifax card [pictured] proves — via a trusted third party — that you are over 18 when accessing specially marked websites. "With fraud and identity theft on the rise, companies need better, more secure ways to conduct transactions online and take their identity management practices to the next level," said Steve Ely, president of Equifax Personal Information Solutions, in a statement.
In June, Equifax was among a handful of companies behind the new Information Card Foundation. Other companies include Google, Microsoft, Novell, Oracle and PayPal. For example, Microsoft's new Geneva project relies upon ICF standards. The Equifax card is one of the first I-cards based on the ICF standard that users can sign up to and use.
In the near future, the foundation hopes I-cards will contain personal data such as profile, purchase preference, payment or verified identity information, as well as password information. Kim Cameron, an identity and access architect for Microsoft, told ZDNet UK's sister site, CNET News.com, in June that the cards really do improve online security. "There's this endless digital baptism of filling in forms and logging in everywhere, and it creates a wonderful environment for the criminal element through phishing attacks and what have you because on the internet no-one does know you are a dog."
To produce the card, Equifax worked with Parity, an information management company that last month announced an online card site based on open ID card standards.
Those interested in trying out the I-card can sign up with Equifax or use Parity's Azigo I-card management software to enable one-click sign-in and identity verification. One demo site for the service requires an Equifax Over 18 I-card just to watch the video.
Equifax currently has no plans to launch the I-Card in the UK, a spokesperson told ZDNet UK on Friday.
