A digital authentication service has completed its first transaction at the EBAday event in Milan.

The MyBank Identity Verification Pilot took place between Signicat, a Nordics-based digital identity service for banks, and CWBI, an Italian software provider responsible for developing the MyBank platform.

The service is designed to enable consumers to digitally agree to contracts through their banks. Using data held by an Account Servicing Payment Service Provider can safely speed up the authentication and administration process for online services, say the people involved.

“MyBank Identity Verification is an example of ‘Open Banking’, a concept that enables financial institutions to use the data they store for their customers to create additional services, going beyond simply providing payment services,” says Giorgio Ferrero, chief executive of PRETA, the company that runs the MyBank scheme.

“As financial institutions are required to open their accounts through new regulation such as PSD2, it also shows how they can offer their customers new value-added services.”

“MyBank Identity Verification will help to bridge the gap between millions of users and online services in Europe,” adds Arne Vidar Haug, co-founder of Signicat. “By digitally connecting consumers and businesses, MyBank Identity Verification is making it easy for consumers to digitally register, apply for services and sign contracts.”

The MyBank pilot scheme has been running since the beginning of 2016 with a number of banks, service providers, merchants and public authorities providing feedback on its functionality