Equifax, the Information Card Foundation, and Interoperable Verified Claims

My congratulations to Equifax for issuing the first commercially deployed Information Cards with verified claims. This is huge step forward towards a future where individuals can routinely make verified digital statements about themselves, facilitating trusted, privacy-preserving interactions online.

I’m writing to bring you some of the story-behind-the-story in Information Card Foundation member Equifax issuing these verified Information Cards. Rather than use proprietary claims schemas in their cards, Equifax chose to use claims that are designed to be interoperable with cards that will be issued by other identity providers. Their cards use a combination of the standard Information Card claims, along with a newly defined age-18-or-over claim that anyone can implement.

This new age-18-or-over claim is the first to emerge from the new Information Card Foundation Identity Schemas Working Group. This is a place where anyone can propose a new claim URI and register it for use by all. You will find the age-18-or-over claim definition in the working group’s Claims Catalog. This is an example of how the Information Card Foundation is facilitating collaboration to advance interoperable Information Cards.

I’ll close by saying that while the Equifax page promotes the new Azigo identity selector, their card uses interoperable protocols and file formats, and is compatible with all identity selectors. For instance, you’ll see a screen shot of my Equifax card in Windows CardSpace below, showing both the use some of the standard Information Card claims, as well as the new age-18-or-over claim from the ICF Claims Catalog.