Valimo, the Finnish mobile identification service provider, has signed agreement with the second largest Finnish mobile operator Elisa. The agreement allows Elisa’s 2.5 million mobile customers in Finland and another 340 000 in Estonia to use mobile phone as everyday electronic identification method. With Valimo’s solution the customers can login to internet services with a single PIN code, and also digitally sign documents. Thus mobile phone can replace web banking credentials now used extensively for secure identification in the region.
Valimo develops software to secure and perform transactions in both mobile and fixed network environments, offering solutions for digital signing, authentication, and validation. Valimo’s service uses PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) and works on all handsets and devices, which use a SIM card as the user’s secret key is stored on the card. Identification or confirmation request is sent onto the user’s screen, and the user will use his/her own PIN code to verify. The service requires country specific registration of the person’s identity and the SIM card. In Finland the registration is done by the police authorities.
Valimo’s services have been well received , and the company recently announced the the Turkish operator Turkcell’s customers recently exceeding 1,8 million mobile transactions.
Biovakka Suomi Oy 
Bitbar
Wow,
This is huge. I’m glad I’m not the only one to recognize the significance of this. Of course it will take time and the boys in blue can still screw it up, but now there is a real chance for a whole ecosystem forming up around the dominant player in the market.
In Estonia our biggest mobile operator EMT has been offering Mobile-ID services for some time now. I also changed the SIM card and use it. But with our electronic ID card you can authenticate for free and practically all the government e-services, internetbanks etc use and promote this…. so there is not much money to be made with the Mobile-ID solution.
As the ID card implementation has shown it takes years (5 or more) for the general public to accept such “fancy” IT solutions. :-) (Imagine your grandmother installing an ID card reader.)
Re: Turkey. All you need to do is see the marketing volume and quality of marketing the services to understand why the solution is successful in Turkey. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_WbiIVyXR8k
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vW5wwJVSWcQ
The key to service adoption (given it is a good service of course) is the promotion strategy and budget of the service provider. If Roberto Carlos is your spokesperson, you have a pretty good chance of getting traction… Anyway, ask for mobiilivarmenne at Elisa and TeliaSonera, it will be big ;)
Another reason for the success of the service is that Turkish population is very young and we love trying “new things”. Roberto Carlos’s advertisement was for a famous bank in Turkey. Turkcell didn’t have to use him, what they did was to have the major banks of Turkey support Turkcell.(They all use this service now). I believe the success in this solution is not only the technology but also being able to get support from the government agencies, banks and the service providers.
Gökhan
Msc ICT Entrepreneurship
Bsc Computer Engineering