Some entrepreneurs had an opportunity to get acquainted with eIDENTITY if they applied for any subsidy programs under the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
eIDENTITY was the only way to log in to the AIS portal, through which the applications were submitted.
But what exactly is this eIDENTITY?
As the name suggests, it is a tool that will securely verify your identity in the online environment so that public authorities can identify you and allow you to perform certain official acts online. For example, thanks to eIDENTITY, you will be able to do various official or other tasks, such as setting up a data box, remote access to the land register, or log in to the citizen's vaccination portal, where you can download a certificate on Covid-19 vaccination.
Various identification means, the providers of which have obtained accreditation and are connected to the so-called national point, are used to prove your identity online.
Among the means of identification offered by the state, we may include:
- Identity Card with a chip, issued after 1st July 2018;
- NIA ID - or a state-provided identification mean based on a combination of name, password, and SMS code formerly referred to as a user account, OTP or UPS; or
- eGovernment mobile key.
Besides the mentioned state-led identification means, identification tools of accredited private identification providers are gaining popularity. Among these tools, we may include:
- MojeID by the CZ.NIC association;
- Starcos chip card by the First Certification Authority (První certifikační autorita); or
- Banking Identity, currently offered by ČSOB, Česká spořitelna, Komerční banka, Air Bank and MONETA Money Bank.
Let's take a closer look at some of these tools in more detail together.
Identity card with chip
To use an identity card as identification for logging in to online services, you will first need to personally activate this option at any municipal office with extended powers. This can be done when collecting an identity card or anytime later when you want to start using the identity card online identification function.
Once the activation is managed, you will need a smart card reader to use this identification method.
Mobile eGovernment key
To identify via this tool, you will need a data box and a smartphone (or tablet) with a camera and the ability to read QR codes. Once you register in the eGovernment key app using the data box, you can start using it immediately. It works similar to mobile keys for electronic banking. Every time you log in to your computer, you need to launch the app on your phone and confirm your identity with the fingerprint or pattern you use to unlock the device.
Bank identity
This is the tool I personally see the future in. In the foreseeable future, you will be able to communicate through Bank Identity not only with banks and the state administration but gradually also with other companies from the private sector that will implement this tool. These can be, for example, various e-shops, operators, insurance companies, electricity providers, and other companies that have their own client zone to which their customers log in. As mentioned above, ČSOB, Česká spořitelna, Komerční banka, Air Bank and MONETA Money Bank currently offer Banking Identity. Of course, the process to obtain a Bank Identity is not generally unified and will depend on each bank; in most cases, you will probably not avoid the initial visit to the branch for personal identification. However, the benefits will supersede this minor inconvenience.
This was just a brief insight into the basic ways of identification in the online world of the public sector. Next month we will look at the actual services to which eIDENTITY unlocks the doors.
