GB GROUP PLC
('GBG' or the 'Group')

GBG's CitizenSafe® Goes Live as Part of GOV.UK Verify

GBG (AIM: GBG), the specialist in identity data intelligence, announces the launch of CitizenSafe®, its citizen identity verification service, which has today gone live as part of the UK government's GOV.UK Verify service.

GOV.UK Verify enables UK citizens to prove who they are online such that they can have quick and secure access to government services, for example filing tax returns, managing pensions, claiming redundancy pay or viewing and sharing driving licence details. Findings from a new YouGov survey, commissioned by GBG, revealed that 81 per cent of UK citizens expect to be able to gain instant access to key government services online.

As one of just six organisations currently live on the GOV.UK Verify service, GBG's CitizenSafe will help transform the way UK citizens access government services, reducing the initial verification process from several days to around 10 minutes, significantly reducing the cost of each application to the government. In addition to operating as a standalone platform, CitizenSafe will also power the Royal Mail's identity assurance service on GOV.UK Verify.

As part of the current 'Procurement 2' phase of GOV.UK Verify, providers are required to meet much more stringent standards for identity verification, business continuity and usability. GBG is one of the first partners to meet these enhanced standards, having developed a system that can handle multiple data providers and sources, including credit data, to maximise match rates and enhance security.

The combined initial value of the contracts to all GOV.UK Verify partners will be £150m but this is expected to grow over the next 5 years as increasing numbers of UK citizens are authenticated to access government services online. GDS predicts that savings will rise to £1.7 billion each year following the next General Election, greatly helping to reduce the government's deficit and improve the UK economy.

The launch of CitizenSafe allows UK citizens full access and use of the service as part of a public beta test of the GOV.UK Verify service. The full launch of GOV.UK Verify is expected to be in April 2016.

Richard Law, CEO of GBG commented: 'We are delighted that UK citizens can now benefit from our CitizenSafe verification service. We are confident this will help transform the way in which UK citizens access government services, making them as easy to use as online banking - 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Our work with GOV.UK Verify highlights the leading position of the UK in delivering government services online, providing a robust model for other countries around the world.'

 
For further information, please contact:

GB Group plc 01244 657333
Richard Law, Chief Executive
Dave Wilson, Group Finance Director & Operations Director

Peel Hunt LLP (Nominated Adviser and Broker) 020 7418 8900
Richard Kauffer

Newgate 020 7653 9850
Andrew Jones
Bob Huxford
Ed Treadwell

Website www.gbgplc.com

About GBG
GBG is a global specialist in Identity Data Intelligence. We help organisations make decisions about the customers they serve and the people they employ.

Through our fundamental belief that the digital economy relies on everyone having access to data they can trust, GBG enables companies and governments to fight fraud and cybercrime, to improve the customer experience and help to protect the more vulnerable people in our society.

Headquartered in Chester (UK) and with 18 offices across the world, GBG provides solutions to many of the world's biggest organisations, from established brands like Nike and Harrods to disruptive newcomers such as Taskrabbit and Stripe.

Find out more about how we use identity data intelligently by visiting www.gbgplc.com and following us on Twitter: @gbgplc

About GBG's solutions
We provide a number of business solutions aimed at informing decisions about customers or employees in key areas:

Employing people - we provide thorough background checks through the online verification of individuals and key documents such as a driver's licence, enabling organisations to safeguard, recruit and engage with confidence.

Registering identities - GBG solutions facilitate the registration of identity data, such as name and address, contact information and social network IDs, quickly and with minimum impact on the customer experience.

Verifying identities - we provide more innovative ways of confirming identity than simply relying on credit data. Our solutions check the identities of more than 4 billion people worldwide and also verify citizens of the world's largest economies to the rigorous standards set by the world's financial regulators.

Building relationships - we work collaboratively with clients to make sure they use the data their customers share with them to create personalised customer journeys for each individual, responding to every interaction in real time.

Fighting fraud - our fraud prevention solutions not only check new customer details in real time as they register but monitor and detect application and transaction fraud on an ongoing basis.

Locating people - voted 'Most Innovative Online Product ' at the 2015 UK Retail Fraud Awards, GBG technology confirms and locates the people our clients need to connect with. It saves valuable time and resource and ensures that good customers don't incur the cost of inefficient processes.

CitizenSafe® - we also offer our own brand - CitizenSafe - to UK citizens directly through the verify service. In addition we have been chosen by the Royal Mail to be their ID verification partner, which means that GBG technology is behind 2 of the 9 choices available to UK citizens applying to sign up for government services online.

GBG is listed on the London Stock Exchange (GBG). For more information visit www.gbgplc.com

GB Group plc issued this content on 10 March 2016 and is solely responsible for the information contained herein. Distributed by Public, unedited and unaltered, on 10 March 2016 08:05:24 UTC

Original Document: http://www.gbgplc.com/uk/news/gbg-s-citizensafe-goes-live/