Every year, 16 September —Identity Day— reminds the world that legal, trusted identity is more than a document.
It is a fundamental right that unlocks access to health care, education, financial services, and civic participation.
The Secure Identity Alliance proudly joins the celebration.
But for our members, Identity Day is not just one day on the calendar—Identity Day is every day.
Decades of Daily Commitment
Long before the United Nations recognized identity as a cornerstone of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG 16.9), SIA member companies and partner governments were already designing and deploying secure, privacy-protecting identity systems.
For decades, our members have worked quietly behind the scenes to help countries issue passports, national ID cards, mobile IDs, and digital wallets that citizens can trust.
- In the 1990s, our members helped governments introduce machine-readable passports and secure birth registration systems—foundations that still protect millions of travellers today.
- In the 2000s, our members pioneered advanced biometric enrolment and verification, ensuring that legal identity could be accurately established even in remote regions.
- Over the last decade, SIA has championed open standards like OSIA, (ITU-T x.1281) enabling countries to interconnect diverse identity building blocks without vendor lock-in—helping governments in Africa, Asia, and Latin America scale programs faster and at lower cost.
- As the next step in trusted digital identity, our members are now supporting the introduction of digital identity wallets—secure, user-controlled applications that store and present verified credentials across borders and sectors. By combining strong cryptography, hardware-based security, and privacy-preserving design, these wallets allow citizens to prove who they are and share only the data required for each transaction, whether opening a bank account, accessing healthcare, or crossing a border.
- At the end of 2023, we co-created SIDI Hub (Sustainable and Interoperable Digital Identity Hub) with leading open-standards and non-profit partners to accelerate the adoption of trusted, interoperable digital identity worldwide. SIDI Hub acts as a global “digital commons,” providing policy and technical tools to empower governments to build interoperable, privacy-preserving identity systems that deliver real outcomes for citizens while safeguarding sovereignty.
These efforts may not always make headlines, but they form the trusted infrastructure that enables hundreds of millions of people to cross borders safely, receive social benefits, and participate in the digital economy every single day.
Identity as a Daily Enabler of Opportunity
Identity Day shines a spotlight on the fact that nearly one billion people worldwide still lack a legal identity.
SIA members confront this challenge every day by helping governments:
- Register births and strengthen civil registries, giving children a first legal identity that follows them through life.
- Secure national ID systems so citizens can access healthcare, education, voting, and social protection.
- Develop digital credentials and wallets that bridge physical and digital worlds, making it easier to open bank accounts, sign documents, and receive payments.
Wherever people live, Secure Identity Alliance's members are working every day to make trusted identity universal.
Trust, Privacy, and Inclusion: Principles for Every Day
For Secure Identity Alliance and our members, identity is not just a technical system—it is a social contract.
Every deployment is guided by four enduring principles:
- Trust & Security – Government-grade assurance, cryptography, and world-class biometrics to protect citizens and service providers.
- Privacy by Design – Data minimization, on-device matching, and transparent governance to respect personal rights.
- Interoperability & Open/ International Standards – Initiatives like OSIA, ADIA and global collaboration via SIDI Hub allow countries to adapt and scale without costly customization.
- Inclusion – Legal identity for everyone, with particular attention to women, youth, migrants, and people living in remote or underserved communities.
These principles ensure that the ID systems we build together not only function securely but also earn the trust of those who use them.
Everyday Impact in Numbers
Because Identity Day is every day for Secure Identity Alliance's smembers, the impact is measured not in calendar dates but in lives improved:
- Hundreds of millions of ePassports issued annually, enabling safe and seamless travel.
- National ID systems in over 100 countries, many designed or supported by Secure Identity Alliance's members, giving citizens secure access to healthcare, education, and social benefits.
- Mobile and digital IDs rolling out across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and Asia—bringing secure digital transactions to millions more people every month.
Each credential represents a door opened: a woman registering her business, a student receiving a scholarship, a migrant worker safely sending money home.
Looking Forward: Every Day Counts
The work is far from finished.
As governments explore Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI)—integrating identity, payments, and data exchange—the secure identity community continues to help countries move from systems to outcomes.
Our members provide the technology and the services, based on international standards, and governance models that enable trusted, privacy-first digital identities to scale across borders and sectors.
Whether it is a birth registration drive in a rural district, a pilot of a hardware-secured digital wallet, or the integration of privacy-preserving biometrics into national systems, SIA members treat every project with the urgency and care that Identity Day represents.
As emerging concepts like non-human identity and Agentic AI gain relevance, the community also explores how these evolving forms of agency can be recognized, governed, and secured responsibly within the digital identity ecosystem.
Join Us—Every Day
Identity Day is a vital annual reminder of the power of legal, trusted identity.
But for the Secure Identity Alliance and our members, the real celebration happens every single day—in ministries and enrolment centres, in standards committees and software labs, and in the lives of the citizens who gain new opportunities through secure identity.
As we mark Identity Day this year, we invite governments, development partners, and technology innovators to join us in making every day an Identity Day—until no one is left behind.