The Digital Identity Solutions Landscape in Southeast Asia

In recent years, Southeast Asia has emerged as one of the fastest-growing regions for digital transformation globally. With a young population and high smartphone penetration, the robust development of e-commerce, fintech, and online public services has driven surging demand for digital identity solutions. However, behind this impressive growth lies the question: How is the digital identity solutions market evolving in Southeast Asia? Which technologies are leading the field, and where are the opportunities for businesses and organizations to ride this wave?

The Demand for Digital Identity: Context and Drivers in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asia is home to over 680 million people, the majority of whom are young, tech-savvy, and actively seeking digital services, from banking, e-wallets, and consumer lending to online shopping. Many countries in the region are promoting online public services and requiring citizens to use digital identities to access them, as seen with SingPass in Singapore, NDID in Thailand, and Project 06 in Vietnam.

Simultaneously, identity fraud, money laundering, and the use of fake accounts are rising, requiring financial institutions, banks, and government agencies to deploy electronic identity solutions (eKYC, eKYB) to protect systems and users while ensuring regulatory compliance.

Statistics indicate that the unbanked rate in Southeast Asia remains high, while e-wallet and digital banking services are growing rapidly, highlighting significant potential for digital identity solutions to advance financial inclusion in the region.

Digital Identity Technology Trends in Southeast Asia

Singapore: A Model for Comprehensive Digital Identity

Singapore has developed a comprehensive digital identity ecosystem with SingPass, serving over 4.5 million users, equivalent to 97% of eligible citizens. SingPass enables access to more than 2,000 public and private services, facilitating fast, secure, and time-saving identity verification.

The MyInfo feature has recorded over 70 million uses, reducing form-filling time by up to 80% while securely linking with banks, fintech firms, and insurers to support eKYC processes. The Singaporean government is also exploring the integration of Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI) and facial recognition to enhance security while optimizing user experience.

Thailand: Blockchain Driving Digital Identity

In Thailand, the National Digital ID (NDID) system leverages blockchain technology, serving over 9 million users and enabling banks and financial institutions to securely share KYC data, reducing verification times and operational costs.

The Thai government has pioneered the application of zero-knowledge proof technology, allowing individuals to verify personal attributes (such as age or nationality) without disclosing complete personal data, while also deploying biometric authentication (facial and fingerprint recognition) within the NDID system. These innovations are helping Thailand build a secure digital infrastructure to meet the increasing demands of the financial and e-commerce sectors.

Indonesia: Large Scale, Great Potential

As the most populous country in Southeast Asia, Indonesia is implementing the e-KTP and IKD (Digital Population Identity) platforms with the goal of digitizing identities for 220 million people. Currently, over 6,600 organizations in Indonesia have integrated with the government’s identity verification system, handling around 10 million verifications daily.

However, the IKD activation rate is only about 3%, indicating vast growth potential. Indonesia is actively promoting programs to help residents in remote areas access digital identities, with the World Bank providing $250 million in funding for IT infrastructure, eKYC, and population management projects.

Vietnam: Strong Progress with Biometric Identity

Vietnam is advancing digital transformation through the application of biometric identity in population management. The VNeID system, which integrates facial and fingerprint data, has completed data registration for over 50 million citizens, enabling them to access online public services without carrying physical documents.

Since 2022, Decree 59/2022 and related policies have provided the legal framework for issuing Level 2 e-ID accounts, allowing citizens to use chip-based ID cards for safe online financial, banking, and insurance transactions. From July 1, 2025, long-term foreign residents in Vietnam will also be eligible to register for Level 2 e-ID, facilitating administrative and banking transactions.

VNPT, Viettel, and Vietnamese technology enterprises like FPT are actively advancing eKYC platforms directly connected to national databases, with over 1 billion electronic verifications completed, demonstrating technological capacity in document fraud prevention and fraud risk mitigation.

Key Digital Identity Technologies in Southeast Asia

Prominent digital identity technologies being deployed in Southeast Asia include:

• Biometric authentication: Using facial, fingerprint, and iris recognition for fast, accurate identity verification.

• OCR and AI: Reading document information combined with portrait analysis to detect forgery and deepfakes.

• Blockchain and Self-Sovereign Identity (SSI): Enabling users to control and share personal data when necessary.

• Digital identity wallets: Allowing users to store critical documents on their phones for payments and online public and banking transactions.
  Electronic authentication and signatures: Ensuring legal validity for online transactions.

Challenges and Growth Potential

Despite notable progress, the digital identity market in Southeast Asia faces several challenges:

• Inconsistent connectivity infrastructure: Remote areas lack internet access and smartphones.

• Fragmented legal frameworks: Different countries have varying standards for data management and protection.

• Security risks: Cyberattacks and personal data leaks remain key concerns.

However, Southeast Asia remains one of the fastest-growing regions for digital identity adoption, driven by a young population, high internet penetration, and accelerated digitization efforts by governments, financial institutions, and fintech firms. It is forecast that the global digital identity market will reach USD 82.3 billion by 2028, with Southeast Asia contributing significantly due to the increasing demand for eKYC in banking, finance, insurance, e-commerce, and public services.

FPT eID: A Comprehensive Digital Identity Solution for Vietnamese Enterprises

In Vietnam, FPT eID provides a comprehensive digital identity and electronic authentication platform, ready to connect with national databases and integrating facial recognition and highly accurate chip-based ID card verification technologies. The solution helps banks, financial institutions, insurers, and government agencies enhance customer experiences, reduce fraud risks, and fully comply with legal regulations such as Decree 59/2022, Decree 13/2023, and Circular 50/2024/TT-NHNN.

Southeast Asia is opening up significant opportunities for digital identity growth, and choosing a secure, compliant, and comprehensive solution like FPT eID is the starting point for every organization and enterprise to achieve successful, sustainable digital transformation.