The UK government has launched a digital version of the HM Armed Forces Veteran Card, allowing nearly 1.8 million veterans to download and use the credential for in-person verification of their status. The digital Veteran Card, accessible via the GOV.UK One Login app, supports secure access through a PIN or native device biometrics. This initiative reflects the government’s broader ambition to modernise identity verification and provide veterans with easier access to various services and discounts, including healthcare, housing support, career assistance, and travel discounts.

The digital card displays essential details such as the veteran’s name, photo, service history, and date of birth, ensuring reliable verification. However, the current version has limitations: it cannot yet be used for domestic air travel or for obtaining a Veteran Rail Card. Full integration with these services and the ability to perform end-to-end programmatic verification are expected to roll out over the next year, which will unlock wider uses both in physical and online environments. According to the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, acceptance of the digital ID will gradually increase as organisations update their systems and provide necessary staff training.

This launch follows earlier efforts to simplify veterans’ access to support. Previously, veterans who left the Armed Forces before December 2018 could verify their status online and receive a physical Veteran Card by post, an initiative intended to streamline access to assistance services. The new digital card represents a further step towards seamless, flexible service delivery by enabling veterans to carry their credentials securely on smartphones. The government claims it is the first credential stored within the government-issued digital wallet and plans to follow this with mobile driver’s licenses in due course.

On a strategic level, the digital Veteran Card also serves as a testbed for broader national digital identity ambitions. Digital Government Minister Ian Murray has highlighted the card’s availability to approximately 300,000 veterans as a useful case study demonstrating the operational viability of mobile digital credentials. This accompanies an ongoing government outreach campaign aimed at fostering public trust and support for a proposed national digital identity scheme, which has faced scepticism in the court of public opinion. Although system design includes a federated architecture to prevent a single point of failure and guarantees that NHS data will not be stored on digital IDs, concerns about costs and privacy remain subjects of parliamentary discussion.

IBM Consulting has recently addressed the challenge of building public trust — a “privacy paradox” where technology can either empower or control citizens. Experts suggest grounding identity frameworks on trusted platforms, like GOV.UK, applying open standards, giving citizens control over their data, and embedding security from the start. Yet the UK experience to date shows that familiarity with GOV.UK alone is insufficient to allay public wariness. The government’s digital ID proposals currently lack a fully agreed consensus on the country’s needs and how to address them, suggesting that future efforts will require not only technical innovation but also deeper engagement with social and political concerns.

Veterans wishing to use the digital card can follow detailed guidance provided by the government, which includes steps for downloading the One Login app, verifying their identity, and adding the digital Veteran Card for convenient access. The Government Digital Service continues to explore ways to expand the card’s functionality over time, aiming to support enhanced online transactions and automated digital identity verification, offering veterans more choice and flexibility in how they prove their status and access services.

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Source: Noah Wire Services