E-ID at banks cuts process costs by up to two-thirds

What changes

The introduction of the Swiss E-ID changes the way banks capture and manage customer identities. Instead of a physical ID that must be held up to the camera, the customer selects the E-ID option in their wallet, sees the requested attributes such as name, first name, date of birth, address and photo, and releases them. The bank then receives structured, cryptographically verified data without media break, because the entire process takes place on the smartphone and no paper form needs to be filled out.

This approach can be applied not only to account opening but also to recurring processes such as device change, password reset, or periodic KYC data updates. By reusing the same E-ID for various use cases, a network of verifiers, issuers, potential wallet providers and consumers emerges within the developing SSI ecosystem, enabling the bank to expand its role as a trusted identity instance.

What it costs

According to investigations by OpenBankingProject.ch, banks can reduce their costs by 50 to 66 percent within five years through consistent use of the E-ID. For certain processes such as device change or KYC updates, the source even cites an savings potential of up to two-thirds of the respective process costs. No other concrete figures were published in the material.

The savings mainly result from costly helpdesk calls – which, according to the source, cost about fifty times a digital self-service – being replaced by secure self-service processes. Additionally, there are fewer manual checks, lower paper and postage costs, and reduced effort for document management, because the E-ID is state-issued, unchanged and cryptographically verifiable.

What breaks

The transition requires existing IAM or ID-verifier solutions to be connected to the E-ID trust framework. Interfaces must be adjusted, communication protocols with the wallet tested, and internal data flows for the uptake of structured attributes adapted. During this integration phase, brief downtimes can occur if old verification paths are shut down before the new E-ID path stabilizes.

The teams most affected are customer service, helpdesk staff, KYC analysts and product managers responsible for onboarding and digital self-service offerings. These groups need training on handling wallet-based attribute releases, dealing with potential error cases and the legal requirements for E-ID acceptance. Also, the IT operations department that runs the identity platform must monitor the new processes and support in case of incidents.

What a switch requires

The switch begins with a proof of value, as conducted by OpenBankingProject.ch, to prioritize the most promising use cases and verify technical feasibility. This is followed by an integration sprint that, depending on the existing IAM landscape, can last from several weeks to a few months. Decision makers had to determine whether to initially deploy a point-to-point verifier or aim long‑term for a central IAM platform that governs all digital identity processes.

For the initial productive rollout – for example, self‑service for device change – a timeframe of three to six months is cited, after which further processes such as account opening or KYC updates can be added step by step. Early involvement of the security officer, data protection officer, head of retail banking and head of IT architecture is important to ensure that security, compliance and user‑experience requirements are considered simultaneously.