Biometric Solutions match user identity independently of mobile phones, tablets and computers, allowing transportability and safety of digital wallets and credentials across Internet enabled devices
Opening remarks from the Minister for Digital Infrastructure, detailing the government's plans for digital identity in the UK
Minister Bains' mandate letter hints at 'enhanced powers for the privacy commissioner'
Trudeau government set to introduce privacy bill aimed at protecting Canadians
Karsten Wenzlaff, Advisor
August 26th, 2025
Karsten Wenzlaff is a Crowdfunding and Fintech Expert from Germany. He is Secretary-General of Digit[...]
Category Archives: Digital Identity, Privacy, KYC, AML/ATF
Liquid Avatar Partners with Fintech Innovator XTM to enable Hospitality, Personal Care, and other Industry Sectors to Verify COVID-19 Vaccination Verifiable Credentials
KABN Systems North America | Cara Buckspan | Dec 15, 2020
XTM joins industry leaders in technology, healthcare and patient data, venue and location management, university and college campus life and travel and leisure to help people start getting back to their everyday lives
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / December 15, 2020 / KABN Systems NA Holdings Corp. (CSE:KABN) (the "Company" or "KABN North America"), a Canadian fintech company that specializes in continuous online identity verification, management and monetization in Canada and the US, through its biometrically and identity verified Self Sovereign Identity platform, Liquid Avatar (www.liquidavatar.com), today announces that fintech innovator, XTM Inc. (CSE:PAID) ("XTM") has joined its Verifiable Identity Healthcare Credential consortium to support the issuance, management and verification of COVID-19 digital diagnostic testing and vaccination verification for the hospitality, personal care and other business sectors that it services. XTM joins consortium partners, Trust over IP Foundation, Lumedic, Loop Insights (TSXV:MTRX), The Campus Agency and TripXpertz.
See: Digital transformation: 9 emerging roles you need on your team
XTM enables North American industry leaders in the hospitality, personal care and sports and entertainment sectors to power cashless payments to employees, including 7 of the 10 largest restaurant chains; 5 of the largest pizza delivery chains including Dominos and Boston Pizza; the largest personal care salon chain; and the largest Canadian sports and entertainment group.
"We're excited to join KABN, Liquid Avatar and the other consortium partners to bring our expertise in reaching and supporting large organizations and their employees in the hospitality, personal care, food services and entertainment sector that have been adversely affected by the pandemic," said Marilyn Schaffer, CEO of XTM. "Our goal is to help our industry partners, in any way possible, to support their current, limited activities, and to help create and support innovative solutions, like the Verifiable Identity Healthcare Credential initiative, so that restaurants, delivery services, salons and other personal care facilities and venues can safely and effectively expand operations to the public."
The consortium has developed an integrated solution ecosystem that enables healthcare issuers, individuals and verifiers to have a digital COVID-19 verifiable identity healthcare credential that is secure, user managed and controlled to ensure privacy, transportability and ease of use. This solution supports the foundation for the acceptance of digital Healthcare Passports and allow qualified Health Professionals with the ability to issue a Verifiable Credential that enables venues and other facilities to verify both the issued credential and the known user in real-time to grant access and / or services.
See: Evolving to Work Better Together: Public-Private Partnerships for Digital Payments
The ecosystem is built on a Trust over IP (TOIP) open standards framework, and the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) specifications for decentralized identifiers for credential management with the ability to issue, manage and verify interoperable COVID-19 vaccination and other verifiable credentials across a host of user managed and controlled digital wallets and applications.
Verifiable identity and access credentials can be used for multiple use cases such as Education, Workplaces, Tradeshows, Healthcare, Sporting Events, Concerts, Entertainment, Travel, Places of Worship, Senior Living, and other facilities, venues and locations and opens the door to further opportunities for commercial and consumer opportunities.
Powering and supporting the entire user experience, Liquid Avatar's Self Sovereign Identity (SSI) platform, which includes user biometric validation and a bank-grade verified identity credential, is available to consumers at no cost. Liquid Avatar enables users to verify and manage their identity and access credentials in a cloud-based, biometrically secure application. Users have complete control over their digital assets (like wallets, passwords and more), identity, and data through easy-to-use avatars that can be shared, on a permission-basis with others.
The COVID-19 Verifiable Healthcare Credential combines healthcare data with the user's biometrically verified identity credential. When a request is made by a Verifier, the User has a choice of which attributes are shared, creating a private verification transaction between themselves and a verifier. While much of the technology and services are already in place, the launch of the healthcare credential pilot is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2021 to coincide with the expected release of the COVID-19 widespread vaccination program. This solution will not only be able to verify identity credentials for the Covid-19 vaccines, diagnostic and antibody testing, but will also be able to support a wide range of immunizations and healthcare records.
"Liquid Avatar and the consortium partners are working together to create open-source solutions that can help empower users to return to public life and the things they once did freely, pre-COVID-19, with ease and continued safety," said David Lucatch, CEO of KABN. "Together with this amazing group and a growing list of partners we will enable, through this and future verifiable identity and access credentials, people to interact with businesses, schools, entertainment venues, retailers, airlines, resorts, and others and do the things and go to the places that they did before the pandemic changed our lives."
See: Law reform to move identity verification online
Healthcare issuers and individuals will be granted access to the system at no cost. Verifiers wishing to access the system will be charged a nominal subscription and micro-payment per verification, making it very cost efficient and effective to use the system for small and medium sized enterprises all the way up to major airlines, venues and facilities. The partners are committed to making the services affordable to all parties, so that everyone can get back to their everyday lives.
The KABN Network is working with leading industry partners to provide a safe and effective ecosystem that supports the issuance, ownership and verification of these verified identity and access credentials and is proud to be working with the following partners at the outset of this announcement covering a wide range of technologies, issuer, consumer, and verification engagement, with additional partners to be named as the program grows.
For more information, please visit www.kabnnaholdco.com or www.kabnsystemsna.com
For further information, please contact:
David Lucatch
Chief Executive Officer
647-725-7742 Ext. 701
mailto:ir@kabnsystemsna.com
US and Canadian Media Contact:
Nicole Rodrigues
NRPR Group
nicole@nrprgroup.com
View the full release -->here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Kabn North America Announces Non-Brokered Private Placement Financing for up to $2.0 Million
KABN | Cara Buckspan | Dec 10, 2020
TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / December 10, 2020 / KABN Systems NA Holdings Corp. (CSE:KABN) (the "Company" or "KABN North America" or "KABN NA"), a Canadian Fintech company that specializes in continuous online identity verification, management and monetization in Canada and the U.S., is pleased to announce that it has received interest for up to $2 Million of units ("Units") pursuant to a non-brokered financing (the "Non-Brokered Offering"), which will close prior to the unrelated, best efforts brokered private placement ("Brokered Offering") of units which the Company previously announced on December 7, 2020.
The gross proceeds of these unrelated offerings together will be up to $3.15 Million. The Units in each of the Brokered Offering and Non-Brokered Offering are being offered at $0.15 per Unit, with each Unit comprised of one common share of the Company (a "Common Share") and one Common Share purchase warrant (a "Warrant"). Each Warrant shall be exercisable to acquire one Common Share (a "Warrant Share") at an exercise price of $0.20 per Warrant Share for a period of 24 months from the applicable closing.
See: Liquid Avatar and The KABN Network Launch Cloud-based Biometric Identity Verification for Self Sovereign Identity, Digital Wallets and Verified Credentials
The Brokered Offering is expected to close on or about December 29, 2020, or on such earlier date as agreed upon between the Company and Agent, and the Non-Brokered Offering is expected to close on or about December 21, 2020, or on such earlier date as the Company determines, and each is subject to certain conditions, including receipt of subscription agreements and payment of the subscription amounts by subscribers. The Units to be issued will have a hold period of four months and one day from the applicable closing.
The securities described herein have not been, and will not be, registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws, and accordingly, may not be offered or sold within the United States except in compliance with the registration requirements of the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities requirements or pursuant to exemptions therefrom. This press release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy any securities in any jurisdiction.
About KABN North America
KABN Systems NA Holdings Corp. through its wholly owned subsidiary KABN Systems North America Inc. focuses on the verification, management and monetization of digital identity, empowering users to control and benefit from the use of their online identity.
For more information, please visit www.kabnnaholdco.com or www.kabnsystemsna.com
KABN Systems NA Holding Corp. is a publicly listed company listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange under the symbol "KABN."
For further information, please contact:
David Lucatch
647-725-7742 Ext. 701
ir@kabnsystemsna.com
View the original release --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Liquid Avatar, Lumedic, Loop Insights, The Campus Agency and TripXpertz Form Consortium to Manage Verifiable Identity Credentials for COVID-19 Vaccinations
KABN | David Lucatch | Dec 8, 2020
Verified Self Sovereign Identity, together with a complete end-to-end issuance and verification health credentials ecosystem, ensures individuals have full privacy and control of personal healthcare data, including vaccination records, so they can securely start returning back to public life, freely.
TORONTO, ON and GIBRALTAR / ACCESSWIRE / December 8, 2020 / The KABN Network, together with KABN Systems NA Holdings Corp. (CSE:KABN) (the "Company" or "KABN North America"), a Canadian fintech company that specializes in continuous online identity verification, management and monetization in Canada and the US, through its biometrically and identity verified Self Sovereign Identity platform, Liquid Avatar (www.liquidavatar.com), today announces the formation of a consortium of industry leaders that will empower people to start getting back to the activities, people and places they have been missing in their lives. The consortium has developed an integrated solution that enables healthcare issuers, individuals and verifiers to have a digital COVID-19 verifiable identity healthcare credential that is secure, user managed and controlled to ensure privacy, transportability and ease of use. This solution supports the foundation for the acceptance of digital Healthcare Passports.
This consortium initially includes the Lumedic Exchange, to power the healthcare credential ecosystem; Loop Insights (MTRX), a leader in automatic contact tracing; The Campus Agency, to support on campus programs at over 2,000 US Colleges and Universities; and TripXpertz, an organization that works with over 1,000 travel and tourism boards, airlines, wholesalers and resorts, together with Liquid Avatar's Self Sovereign Identity platform to empower the worldwide Healthcare industry to issue Identity-based Verifiable Credentials through a secure, effective and cost-efficient ecosystem.
See: Liquid Avatar and The KABN Network Launch Cloud-based Biometric Identity Verification for Self Sovereign Identity, Digital Wallets and Verified Credentials
This ecosystem will allow qualified Health Professionals with the ability to issue a Verifiable Credential that enables venues and other facilities to verify both the issued credential and the known user in real-time to grant access and / or services. This partnership built on a Trust over IP (TOIP) open standards framework, and the World Wide Web Consortium's (W3C) specifications for decentralized identifiers for credential management, can power interoperable COVID-19 vaccination and other verifiable credentials across a host of user managed and controlled digital wallets and applications. This process can be used for multiple use cases such as Education, Workplaces, Tradeshows, Healthcare, Sporting Events, Concerts, Entertainment, Travel, Places of Worship, Senior Living, and other facilities, venues and locations and opens the door to further opportunities for commercial and consumer opportunities.
Liquid Avatar's Self Sovereign Identity (SSI) platform, which includes user biometric validation and a bank-grade verified identity credential, is available to consumers at no cost. Liquid Avatar enables users to verify and manage their identity and access credentials in a cloud-based, biometrically-secure application. Users have complete control over their digital assets (like wallets, passwords and more), identity, and data through easy to use avatars that can be shared, on a permission-basis with others. The COVID-19 Verifiable Healthcare Credential combines healthcare data with the user's biometrically verified identity credential. When a request is made by a Verifier, the User has a choice of which attributes are shared, creating a private verification transaction between themselves and a verifier. While much of the technology and services are already in place, the launch of the healthcare credential pilot is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2021 to coincide with the expected release of the COVID-19 widespread vaccination program.
This program will not only be able to verify identity credentials for the Covid-19 vaccines, diagnostic and antibody testing, but will also be able to support a wide range of immunizations and healthcare records.
"We want to empower users to return to public life and the things they once did freely, pre-COVID-19, with ease and continued safety, with this and future credentials," said David Lucatch, CEO of KABN. "Our goal is to help get everyone back to life as efficiently and effectively as possible, so a sense of "normality" can be reestablished. Liquid Avatar and the ecosystem, together with this amazing group and a growing list of partners, will potentially enable businesses, schools, entertainment venues, and more do the normal things that they do and give users the power to engage with them as they did before the pandemic changed our lives."
Healthcare issuers and individuals will be granted access to the system at no cost. Verifiers wishing to access the system will be charged a nominal subscription and micro-payment per verification, making it very cost efficient and effective to use the system for small and medium sized enterprises all the way up to major airlines, venues and facilities. The partners are committed to making the services affordable to all parties, so that everyone can get back to their everyday lives.
See: From Voting To Social Media: What Does The Future Hold For Digital Identity On The Blockchain
The KABN Network is working with leading industry partners to provide a safe and effective ecosystem that supports the issuance, ownership and verification of these verified identity and access credentials and is proud to be working with the following partners at the outset of this announcement covering a wide range of technologies, issuer, consumer and verification engagement, with additional partners to be named as the program grows.
Trust over IP Foundation (ToIP)
As a member of the Trust over IP Foundation (www.trustoverip.org) steering committee, The KABN Network is committed to the organization's open-standard framework and tech stacks. ToIP recently released its Covid-19 Credentials Initiative ("CCI") Governance Framework for public review.
"Trust over IP offers an important new model for how to assemble the pieces that create working and reliable digital trust ecosystems. We are very excited to see momentum growing for real-world cases where the model is being used to make people's digital lives simpler and better. This includes the KABN Network becoming part of the Lumedic Exchange," said John Jordan - Executive Director of the Trust over IP Foundation. "We hope to see this momentum continue, and more organizations using the Trust over IP model to create solutions that benefit individuals and businesses."
Lumedic Exchange
The KABN Network, as a founding partner, is working with the Lumedic Exchange (www.lumedic.io), an open-standards, decentralized framework for the healthcare industry giving patients greater control over their health data.
Chris Ingrao, Chief Strategy Officer of Lumedic, a US-based Health technology company, part of Providence Health Systems ecosystem, comments: "Lumedic recently launched the Lumedic Exchange, the first healthcare ecosystem of its kind dedicated solely to community-driven standards development for patient-intermediated information exchange using verifiable credentials, to support secure exchange of vaccination information."
Loop Insights, Inc.
Powering professional sports, entertainment, collegiate and other venues and facilities with Automatic Contract Tracing, Loop Insights, Inc. (www.loopinsights.ai) (MTRX) has developed a fully managed contactless check-in platform that securely transfers contact information and triggers real-time notifications at scale.
"The success Loop has had with our recent NCAA sporting events using our venue tracing and management tools, only reinforces the need for a unified verifiable credential that consumers and businesses can trust. Working with KABN and Liquid Avatar and their digital identity platform will provide our customers - and ultimately consumers - with the level of trust required to provide personal information such as COVID testing results, vaccination proof, payment, and other sensitive personal information required in today's changing landscape. We are thrilled to be one of the first partners to work with KABN and Liquid Avatar on an end to end solution that will provide this safety, security, and peace of mind required to protect consumers looking to return to a new way of life where mobile devices and personal information will be at the forefront of nearly every interaction", Rob Anson, President and CEO Loop Insights.
The Campus Agency
With reach to over 2,000 US College and University campuses and over 1.5 Million Gen Z students, alumni and families, The Campus Agency (www.thecampusagency.com) has been supporting innovative direct to student and online marketing programs for over 40 years.
"We are really excited to be working with KABN and Liquid Avatar and be a member of this consortium. COVID-19 has impacted the lives of students and faculty on college campuses in such a major way, and we are looking forward to being part of a solution that provides campus communities with the tools and resources they need to return to their way of lives, safely and securely," Chris Nyland, Chief Operating Officer, The Campus Agency
TripXpertz
Powering over 1,000 travel and government tourism boards, airlines, travel wholesalers and resorts in US, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean and around the world, to more effectively reach their intended travel audiences with end to end travel marketing management, booking and analytics solutions TripXpertz (www.tripxpertz.com) is changing the way the travel industry reaches travelers and how travelers can receive better value from their travel experiences.
"Our Priority Protection Passport program is aimed at restoring consumer confidence and trust in travelling again and piece-of-mind while away," says Brad Miron, CEO of TripXpertz. "This partnership gives us, and our multiple program stakeholders, the ability to verify an individual's identity with certainty, while maintaining security and privacy - In the context of Priority Protection Passport, Liquid Avatar and the capabilities of the Verifiable Identity Healthcare Credentials are foundational to what we must deliver to attract, assure and welcome back tourists to destinations."
For more information on the program and / or how to become a consortium partner or participant, please visit www.liquidavatar.com
About KABN North America - www.kabnnaholdco.com
KABN Systems NA Holdings Corp. through its wholly owned subsidiary KABN Systems North America Inc. focuses on the verification, management and monetization of Self Sovereign identity, empowering users to control and benefit from the use of their online identity. The KABN proprietary technology suite includes 4 key products:
Liquid Avatar is a verified Self Sovereign Identity platform empowers users to create high quality digital icons representing their online personas. These icons, in conjunction with KABN ID, allow users to manage and control their digital identity and Verifiable Access and Identity Credentials, and to use Liquid Avatars to share public and permission based private data when they want and with whom they want. www.liquidavatar.com
KABN ID is an Always On, biometric and blockchain based digital identity validation and verification platform allowing users to continuously and confidently prove themselves throughout the online community.
KABN Systems NA Holdings Corp. is publicly listed on the Canadian Securities Exchange (CSE) under the symbol "KABN" (CSE:KABN)
If you have not already joined our mailing list, and would like to receive updates on KABN Systems NA Holdings Corp., please click here to join!
For more information, please visit www.kabnnaholdco.com or www.kabnsystemsna.com
For further information, please contact:
David Lucatch
Chief Executive Officer
647-725-7742 Ext. 701
ir@kabnsystemsna.com
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Liquid Avatar and The KABN Network Launch Cloud-based Biometric Identity Verification for Self Sovereign Identity, Digital Wallets and Verified Credentials
KABN | Cara Buckspan | Dec 2, 2020
Biometric Solutions match user identity independently of mobile phones, tablets and computers, allowing transportability and safety of digital wallets and credentials across Internet enabled devices
TORONTO, ON and GIBRALTAR / ACCESSWIRE / December 2, 2020 / The KABN Network together with KABN Systems NA Holdings Corp. (CSE:KABN) (the "Company" or "KABN North America"), a Canadian fintech company that specializes in continuous online identity verification, management and monetization in Canada and the US, today announces that its cloud-based biometric solutions will now be available on its digital identity management platform, Liquid Avatar (www.liquidavatar.com) enabling a further layer of identity verification that is independent of a user's device.
"With more traditional services, like healthcare, education, verified purchasing and government services expanding online, we developed Liquid Avatar to allow users to use their verified identity to share what they want, when they want and with whom they want in an easy to use visually-enabled platform," said David Lucatch, CEO KABN North America.
"Our goal is to reduce and, in some cases, eliminate the need to remember passwords or to present physical credentials in an ever expanding digital landscape. We hope to empower users to seamlessly manage their digital lives as easily and effectively as they do conventionally."
As a cloud-based service, KABN's biometric features are not resident on a device and work with a user's mobile phone, tablet, computer or other camera and Internet enabled devices, to pass verified information securely over the Internet, enabling identity to be transportable and connected to a wide range of applications like Passwords, Digital Wallets and Verified Access and Identity Credentials.
See: KABN Network Joins the Trust Over IP Foundation
With Liquid Avatar's Self Sovereign Identity management services, a user can manage and customize their credentials through easy to access "icons," enabling them to store, organize and control their information remotely, increasing potential security and safety in the event that the device is lost, stolen or compromised, and making it easy to share services using their facial recognition or other biometric controls.
Liquid Avatar will work with a wide range of emerging technologies and digital platforms to enable the creation and support of a wide range of services, such as:
Identity Verification Services - Bank Grade Identity and Biometric Verification
Digital Wallet Applications - Crypto and Digital Currencies, Identity, Credentials
Verified Access Credentials - Concerts, Movies, Theme Parks, Senior Living, Sporting and other Venue Events and Facilities
Verified Identity Credentials - Government, Healthcare, eCommerce, Membership, School, Workplace and other
Guardianship Services - In early 2021, Liquid Avatar will enable users to authorize a secondary "guardian" for biometric data access. Ideal for parents that want to protect and authorize certain activities for their children, like education, online gaming, eCommerce and other activities. This service can also be used as a safeguard in cases of emergency allowing an authorized second, biometrically verified person, to access a user's data.
See: Matt Warman’s speech on digital identity at Identity Week 2020
"In the real world, we recognize and verify each other using personal recognition, and document verification and we believe that Liquid Avatar can potentially duplicate this process in the digital world," continued Lucatch.
In the coming weeks, the Company is expecting to rollout a number of key initiatives that will support the creation, management and verification of digital wallets and verified access and identity credentials.
For more information, please visit www.kabnnaholdco.com or www.kabnsystemsna.com or www.liquidavatar.com
View the original release --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Canada “AIMS” to raise the bar for AI development and use through standardization
SCC | Nov 10, 2020
Artificial Intelligence is a moving target when it comes to standardization. AI is progressing at a breakneck speed and expanding its reach worldwide as it becomes broadly incorporated into products and services. Virtually any emerging technology requires standards to provide the foundation for safety, performance, and interoperability, but AI has additional opportunities and threats associated with its use calling immediately for standards to be set.
See: FFCON20 Week 7 Wrap-up: Artificial Intelligence in Fintech
AI is a particularly complex technology since it can be used for information gathering, analysis, decision-making, and automation, and users are often unaware AI is driving it. For example, algorithms execute AI-based advertising on platforms like Facebook, targeting users according to their past and predicted-future behaviour. These systems do not automatically consider issues such as bias, discrimination, ethics, privacy, and human health and safety when they direct users to information or offer solutions.
The Canadian Mirror Committee to JTC 1/SC 42 Artificial Intelligence “AIMS” to help. The committee has successfully advanced a project proposal for the first conformity assessment standard for AI at ISO/IEC, having garnered unanimous international support in the ballot. The Artificial Intelligence Management System (AIMS) standard will enable organizations to show they have implemented and continually work on improving processes unique to the development or use of AI, such as bias, fairness, inclusiveness, safety, security, privacy, accountability, explicability, and transparency.
“Management system standards have been used in many different sectors to help innovation and technology develop through structured governance and appropriate risk management,” said Paul Cotton, Convenor of the Working Group 1. “One such example is the ISO 27001 for cybersecurity, which is currently used as part of the CyberSecure Program in Canada.”
See: FINTECH FRIDAY$ (EP.17-Nov 9): How Artificial Intelligence is Optimizing Sales and the Future of Business AI with Asad Naeem, Co-founder and President, Fortuna.ai
“Having a standardized management system for AI is essential,” says Marta Janczarski, Standards Council of Canada (SCC) AI Sector Specialist and project editor for the AIMS standard. “Within our Innovation Initiative at SCC, we see firsthand incredible advances in technology and the wide-reaching applications possible for AI. But with that comes an innate responsibility to protect citizens from the dangers as well and providing standardized requirements and a means to demonstrate compliance is the best way to achieve this.”
AIMS will increase interoperability, harmonize requirements, increase trust in AI systems and ensure continual improvement through the standards development process that relies on balanced stakeholder representation, consensus, and public scrutiny as technology progresses. The full complement of a standard and associated conformity assessment program will give stakeholders confidence in an organization’s ability to consistently meet customer requirements, and any applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
Continue to the full article --> here
SCC | Oct 30, 2020
When One Size Does Not Protect All: Understanding Why Gender Matters for Standardization
As t
he first woman CEO at the Standards Council of Canada, and also a professional Engineer, Chantal Guay is a role model. Chantal’s leadership has brought forward an emphasis on gender equality and has inspired SCC to take tangible action.
As part of our work to improve gender equality, SCC has done a cross-country analysis, using data from 106 countries, of the impact of gender on standardization. This ground-breaking research is captured in SCC’s new report When One Size Does Not Protect All: Understanding Why Gender Matters for Standardization. SCC’s research is gaining worldwide recognition. Understanding how standardization impacts women is essential to doing something about it.
See: Ten things to know about gender equality
SCC’s research, outlined in the report, shows that countries which are more involved in standardization experience fewer unintentional male deaths. As a country’s participation in standardization increases, the number of men who die as a result of unintentional injuries decreases. When the analysis was repeated to determine the impact of participation in standardization on the number of unintentional female deaths, there was no impact. Unlike for men, increasing participation in standardization is not associated with a decline in the number of women who die as a result of unintentional injuries. Standards are not protecting women as well as they protect men. Unfortunately, this is perhaps not that surprising of a finding considering that throughout the pandemic we have heard reports of female health care workers being at a greater risk of contracting COVID because of ill-fitting Personal Protective Equipment. Research has shown that the risk of being injured or killed in a car accident is 73% greater for women because crash test dummies are based on male anthropometry.
The failure of many standards to account for women may boil down to two inter-related factors: the lack of female representation in the development of standards and the lack of gender expertise in standards development. Here in Canada, SCC’s preliminary research shows that only 2% of our national standards contribute to SDG 5 – the UN’s gender equality goal. We are working hard to change this.
What is SCC doing?
In 2019, SCC became one of the first national standards organizations to publish a five-year strategy to improve gender equality in standards aligned with the United Nations Declaration for Gender Responsive Standards.
See: ServiceNow is acquiring Element AI, the Canadian startup building AI services for enterprises
Since then, we have been striving to establish a standardization system that is inclusive and equal, regardless of gender.
Recognizing the importance of considering gender in standards development, SCC – along with other national standards bodies, standards development organizations and international organizations – has signed the UNECE Declaration for Gender Responsive Standards and Standards Development. Additionally, SCC’s gender strategy emphasizes:
- Increasing the participation of women on technical committees;
- Building gender expertise into the standards development process; and
- Conducting sound research into the impact of gender on standardization.
Continue to the full article --> here
The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Matt Warman’s speech on digital identity at Identity Week 2020
UK Government | Department of Digital, Culture, Media and Sport | Nov 16, 2020
Opening remarks from the Minister for Digital Infrastructure, detailing the government's plans for digital identity in the UK
Good morning. It’s a great pleasure to be invited to speak at Identity Week 2020.
I truly believe that digital identity is one of the most exciting opportunities for growth and security in the UK economy, and I am excited to share my vision with you today.
Digital identity products are a vital building block for the economy of the future. They will enable smoother, cheaper, and more secure online transactions; they will simplify people’s lives, and boost business.
Digital identity solutions can also ensure that people have greater control of their identity data, and provide greater security and privacy standards.
See: FFCON Week 5 Wrap-up: Digital Identity & Convergence Marketplaces
It has the capacity to allow more people to open a bank account, to allow more people to start a new job faster, and to improve the safety and security of travel both within and beyond the UK — whether for business or pleasure.
Covid-19 has increased the demand for online services: 63% of people are learning a new skill online; 20% are buying groceries online; 20% are managing their money online; and 19% are now accessing health services online.
It is essential that all those in society who want to access services online are able to do so. Use of digital identity is key to unlocking this.
We want to enable the formation of a successful digital identity ecosystem in the UK so these benefits and those increased demands and expectations brought on by the pandemic can be fully realised.
The government is committed to enabling a digital identity system fit for the UK’s growing digital economy — without the need for identity cards — by working in partnership across government, the private sector, academia and civil society.
See: Tech CEOs call on political parties for policy action to drive digital economy
I want to ensure that UK values will be at the heart of this thinking to ensure that digital identity works for all who wish to use it, and that will be interoperable with as many markets and sectors as possible.
Last year we undertook a call for evidence so we could better understand the potential of digital identity to unlock the digital economy, improve user experience and access to services.
Respondents felt strongly that the government has an essential role to play in enabling secure digital identity solutions for the wider economy, and that the setting of standards is integral to this.
When we published our response to the call for evidence, we also published a set of principles that would underpin our approach to developing policy, namely: privacy; transparency; inclusivity; interoperability, proportionality; and good governance.
Security and consent underpin our approach. I don’t use these words lightly.
While we have been working with our international stakeholders to understand their approach to the development of digital identity policy, these principles have been developed deliberately and specifically to ensure that British values — your values — are the foundation upon which our digital world is built in the UK.
See: NCFA and KABN Systems North America enter multi-year exclusive partnership to promote Digital Identity in Canada
Policy on something as personal as the way in which we identify ourselves online can only be developed in this way.
By ensuring that the principles set out in our call for evidence response are at the heart of the UK’s digital identity ecosystem, those who choose to make use of a digital identity in the future will have confidence that there are measures in place to protect them.
Consumers will be assured that data confidentiality and privacy are at the centre of their digital identity and will be able to understand who, why, and when their data is being used for digital identity verification.
Over the past few months we have been working closely with experts throughout the private sector, academia and civil society to fully understand the ways we can balance these key principles, mitigate the effect of associated risks, and ensure that digital identities will truly work for those who wish to use them.
I know from my own engagement with these experts that we need agreed standards, ways of working, and a way to check they are being adhered to.
We will do this by establishing a trust framework of standards, rules, assurance and governance for the use of digital identity, in one place, that different organisations using or consuming digital identity can follow.
Such a framework would also enable people to reuse their digital identity to access a range of products and services.
See: A new denim collection gives jeans a digital identity
This trust framework will help organisations check identities and share attributes in a trusted and consistent way enabling interoperability, maintaining high levels of privacy, and increasing public confidence.
Because the foundation of this market will be based on trust, how we establish the framework is as important as what it says.
I have held a number of meetings with experts across the digital identity ecosystem — from supportive providers to hopeful private sector organisations to sceptical lobbyists. We are engaging openly with players across the ecosystem to hear your ideas — and your concerns — and incorporate them into our approach.
The development of this trust framework must be a collaborative, informed process to ensure that what we develop represents the very best of British innovation and British values.
We must also ensure that we work to enable an open, competitive market. The standards, regulations, and legislation that we are seeking to implement will not restrict innovation but, instead, will enable the implementation of safe and secure solutions that work for business and society alike.
This unique approach — building on lessons of those who have gone before us and developing an approach that works for the UK — will be critical in making us the world’s leading digital economy.
We are keen to engage with our international partners too, who are developing their own rules and regulations to establish a framework that allows us all to work together.
We are exploring the ways in which we can make direct links to other markets and nations to establish and build international recognition and interoperability.
I am excited to announce that we will be publishing the digital identity Trust Framework as an alpha in the new year.
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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Bill to overhaul Canada’s privacy laws coming soon
CBC | | Nov 16, 2020
Minister Bains' mandate letter hints at 'enhanced powers for the privacy commissioner'
As the number of high-profile online consumer security breaches continues to grow, the federal government is expected to introduce a bill soon to shake up Canada's privacy laws — possibly as early as this week.
Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains signalled plans to introduce the legislation late last week on the House of Commons notice paper.
The bill — officially called "An Act to enact the Consumer Privacy Protection Act and the Personal Information and Data Protection Tribunal Act and to make consequential and related amendments to other Acts" — would be the first major attempt to change Canada's privacy law in decades.
See: Cadillac Fairview broke privacy laws by using facial recognition technology at malls, investigators conclude
Details of the bill won't be available until the legislation is tabled, but a spokesperson for Bains pointed to the promises outlined in the minister's mandate letter.
That letter — essentially the minister's marching orders from Prime Minister Justin Trudeau — tasked him with drafting a "digital charter" that would include legislation to give Canadians "appropriate compensation" when their personal data is breached.
It also promised to introduce new regulations for large digital companies to better protect Canadians' personal data and encourage more competition in the digital marketplace, and to appoint a new data commissioner to oversee those regulations.
"It will be significant and meaningful to make it very clear that privacy is important. Compensation, of course, is one aspect of it," Bains said back in January, adding that the government also wants "to demonstrate to businesses very clearly that there are going to be significant penalties for non-compliance with the law. That's really my primary goal."
The letter also calls for "enhanced powers for the Privacy Commissioner." The office of Privacy Commissioner Daniel Therrien — who has been calling for more powers — said he will be briefed on the bill after it's tabled.
See: Capital One data breach shows why it shouldn’t be a tech company that does banking
"Our office has long been calling for federal privacy laws better suited to protecting Canadians in the digital age," said Therrien's spokesperson Vito Pilieci.
"We need a legal framework that allows for responsible innovation that serves the public interest and is likely to foster trust, but prohibits the use of technology in ways that are incompatible with our rights and values. The law should also provide for enforcement mechanisms that ensure individuals have access to quick and effective remedies for the protection of their privacy rights, and create incentives for broad compliance by organizations."
The 'right to be forgotten'
Earlier this month, a joint investigation by the federal, Alberta and B.C. privacy commissioners concluded that the real estate company behind some of Canada's most popular shopping centres embedded cameras inside its digital information kiosks at 12 shopping malls in major Canadian cities to collect millions of images — and used facial recognition technology without customers' knowledge or consent.
B.C. Information and Privacy Commissioner Michael McEvoy said the commissioners likely would have pursued fines against the company, Cadallic Fairview, if they'd had the power.
"Fines in a case like this would have been a consideration. It is an incredible shortcoming of Canadian law," he said.
"We as privacy regulators don't have any authority to levy fines on companies that violate peoples' personal information and that should really change."
See: FFCON Week 5 Wrap-up: Digital Identity & Convergence Marketplaces
Statistics Canada says that about 57 per cent of Canadians online reported experiencing a cyber security incident in 2018.
Bains's mandate letter also hints at the introduction of a so-called "right to be forgotten" or "right to erasure" law by calling for the "ability to withdraw, remove and erase basic personal data from a platform."
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Trudeau government set to introduce privacy bill aimed at protecting Canadians
The Trudeau government is poised to introduce legislation aimed at better safeguarding the privacy of Canadians in the digital era.
The bill, to be tabled as early as this week, would be a step toward realizing commitments set out in the mandate letter of Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains.
It would also flesh out the 10 principles — from control over data to meaningful penalties for misuse of information — that make up the federal digital charter.
See:
Digital IDs Help Open Banking Reach Its Fullest Potential
Smart Cities Offer Promises and Concerns Over Privacy
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has asked Bains to work with other ministers to advance the digital charter and beef up the privacy commissioner’s powers with the overall goal of establishing a new set of online rights.
They are to include:
- the ability to withdraw, remove and erase basic personal data from a platform, such as Facebook or Twitter;
- knowledge of how personal data is being used, including through a national advertising registry;
- the ability to review and challenge the amount of personal data that a company or government has collected;
- a means of informing people when personal data is breached, with appropriate compensation;
- and the ability to be free from online discrimination including bias and harassment.
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The National Crowdfunding & Fintech Association (NCFA Canada) is a financial innovation ecosystem that provides education, market intelligence, industry stewardship, networking and funding opportunities and services to thousands of community members and works closely with industry, government, partners and affiliates to create a vibrant and innovative fintech and funding industry in Canada. Decentralized and distributed, NCFA is engaged with global stakeholders and helps incubate projects and investment in fintech, alternative finance, crowdfunding, peer-to-peer finance, payments, digital assets and tokens, blockchain, cryptocurrency, regtech, and insurtech sectors. Join Canada's Fintech & Funding Community today FREE! Or become a contributing member and get perks. For more information, please visit: www.ncfacanada.org
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