In the week that the Australian Federal Government committed $288 million to advance digital ID and tackle identity theft, CommBank's venture scaler unit x15Ventures has developed Truyu, an app that alerts users when there credentials are at risk of being misused by fraudsters.
In the wake of the passing of a Digital ID bill in March, Australian Minister for Finance and the Public Service Katy Gallagher has shared that the government-issued digital ID framework will receive $288.1 million in additional funding over a four-year period.
Businesses will soon be invited to trial the Government Digital ID system, with the recently passed Bill including a two-year phase-in period for businesses.
X15ventures, meanwhile, has beaten the public authorities to the punch, launching its own app Truyu, in partnership with gateway service provider GBG.
Already available on the App Store and Google Play, Truyu's digital protection tool issues alerts when a user’s identity is being used online at major merchants. Truyu is currently in pilot, targeted directly at consumers. The product may be offered to merchants in the future.
Wholly-owned by CommBank, Truyu will be available to all consumers regardless of who they bank with.
The initiative comes in the wake of growing identity theft in Australia, with nearly 200,000 victims reported in the last financial year - a 25% year-on-year increase.
Toby Norton-Smith, managing director, x15ventures, comments: “We believe there’s an advantage to be gained by the public and private sectors working in collaboration to make things safer for all Australians, particularly given the pace at which the private sector can move, test, and learn.”
“Truyu is a great vehicle - already in the hands of consumers - to test what propositions drive most engagement and value for consumers, and how we can also reduce the cost for merchants to manage and respond to identity fraud.”
"As we work collectively on solutions to tackle identity misuse, I’m confident what we learn through our pilot will prove valuable to Government.”