The decentralized identity startup, cheqd, unveils Credential Payments, blending financial incentives with self-sovereign identity measures.
cheqd, a startup specializing in digital identity, has announced the integration of its Credential Payments into its decentralized network and SaaS product, Credential Service, the company announced on September 20.
Employing decentralized ledger technology, Credential Payments is designed to efficiently integrate Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) with financial transaction procedures. This design enables on-chain payments related to blockchain to process Trusted Data that’s stored off-chain.
This ensures data integrity and privacy, encouraging businesses to rethink their current models. By addressing this, cheqd provides an avenue for users and organizations to monetize their identity data while maintaining a high level of security and data sovereignty.
Credential Payments also offer organizations a financial incentive to issue credentials or Trusted Data. This could potentially lead to a market where credentials are readily available to a wider range of verifiers and receivers, possibly at more competitive prices:
“Credentials allow DeFi protocols to set KYC and investor acceptance requirements whilst allowing users to re-use their information seamlessly, aiming to meet regulations whilst maintaining smooth user experience.”
Global regulations, such as the EU’s eIDAS 2.0, the announcement read, emphasize the need for electronic identification and highlight the role of Verifiable Credentials in the exchange of identity data, especially the substantial market potential for SSI that cheqd’s research and announcement outlined.
This development is backed by cheqd’s Credential Service, designed to simplify the integration of decentralized identities into contemporary applications. It is “a scalable solution that removes all of the complexity required to build or integrate decentralized identities into existing applications.”
cheqd has also identified critical sectors that could benefit from this innovation, specifically Finance and Education, according to the announcement. In Finance, Credential Payments cater to the stringent digital regulations around Know Your Customer (KYC) processes in the crypto sector. Meanwhile, in Education, cryptographic validation enhances trust in certifications, reducing the risk of misrepresentation and ensuring authentic verification of credentials.