Use cases

This is a high-level description aimed at readers that do not know much about how BankID is used in practice. For technical integration details, see Setup of BankID.

BankID (Norway) can be used for both digital onboarding of new users and for authentication of existing users.

Technically, you use the same service in both use cases. However, you should consider how you set the ID method up in each user flow, since onboarding a new customer is a one-time occurrence, while authentication is a repetitive action for the customer. You may set up a simpler user flow for recurring authentications, e.g. with just a username and password. Of course, this depends on the required level of assurance for the services you offer.

Digital onboarding

BankID can be used for digital onboarding of a new user, through user identification. The ID method can be used as a stand-alone method or in combination with other services provided by Signicat to assure an identity, like ID Document and Biometric Verification and Risk and Identity Data Sources.

Use case: Register as a new customer in a bank

To be able to apply for a loan in Norwegian banks, the user must first register and become a customer of a bank. During this digital onboarding process, the user can choose BankID, among others, as an ID method to register as a user for the first time.

In the following example, we assume you have set up the BankID High flow (see acr_values).

The user logs in with their national identity number, selects BankID with code device, enters the OTP and their personal password:

The flow will be the same if the user selects the BankID with app option.

Important:

Be aware that BankID on Mobile will gradually be phased out by BankID, starting in 2022. It's expected to live until 2024.

Authentication

When the user has completed the digital onboarding process, BankID can be used for authentication to connect by verifying an existing user’s identity. In this case, BankID is often used as a stand-alone method.

Use case: Log into a bank

As a registered customer in a bank, the user can apply for a loan. To be able to log in to the bank, the user must authenticate to prove their identity.

In this example, the user logs in with their national identity number and is asked to identify themselves with the BankID app on their mobile device:

BankID Biometric

The BankID Biometric flow is much simpler than the BankID High flow. In this case the user confirms their identity on their mobile, followed by face recognition.

For information on how to set up the different flows, see Control the BankID flow.

Result with user information

The user information available after a successful authentication may differ slightly between different issuers. Important parameters are:

• National identity number (fødselsnummer)
• Name
• Birth date
• Valid from
• Valid to
• Issued by
• PID, unique ID specific to BankID

For more details, see Response examples.