This digital ID app was used by the Belgian government for its ‘Corona passport’ app; raises €24.7M and enters the Netherlands

Brussels-based itsme is a secure mobile phone app that lets users log in safely to confirm their personal ID and share data during digital interactions. In a recent development, the company announced that it has raised €24.7M in a fresh round of funding.

Investors in this round

The round saw participation from Federal Participation and Investment Company (FPIM) with €14.5M investment and thereby acquired a 20 per cent stake in the Belgian identity app. 

itsme is a consortium of seven private companies, Belfius Bank, BNP Paribas Fortis, ING Belgium, KBC Bank, Orange Belgium, Proximus, and Telenet. They will now be joined by FPIM/SFPI, the Federal Holding and Investment Company.

Besides, this round also saw investment from six other shareholders from the banking and telecommunications sectors each injecting €1.7M into itsme.

Speaking on the development, Tom Feys, Chief Investment Officer of FPIM/SFPI, says, “It’s hard to imagine our society without itsme these days. In just a short space of time, the app has taken on enormous social relevance for Belgians – plus it also has all the cards it needs to play a European role as well. Given the strategic importance of itsme for the government, as well as our aim to support Belgian champions with international aspirations, it was only logical that we should take our place at the itsme table.”

In April 2018, the existing shareholders also contributed an amount of €13.4M.

Capital utilisation

FPIM, the Federal Participation and Investment Company, is a government-holding company. And as a new shareholder, the investment company wants to help itsme to boost its European ambitions. 

The Belgian identity app recently took its first steps in the Netherlands, allowing Dutch citizens to create an itsme account.

itsme – “your digital ID”

Founded in 2017, itsme offers Belgian citizens four services: identification, authentication, confirmation, and signing. With a secret code of 5 digits on the smartphone, the system ensures the authentication of the customer and the transparency required by the PSD2 directive. This allows users to approve an online transaction or consult his bank account in a secured manner. Besides, the secret code can also be replaced by fingerprint recognition.

Payment Services Directive Two (PSD2) is a piece of legislation designed to force providers of payment services to improve customer authentication processes and to also bring in new regulation around third-party involvement.

Chairman of itsme Michael Anseeuw, explains, “Currently itsme is used to identify oneself online, log in, confirm transactions, and digitally sign documents. In the future, however, many new possibilities will open up.”

Anseeuw added, “The market for digital identities and digital wallets is of great strategic importance, and the corona crisis has further emphasised this. For example, itsme, with its strong focus on security and privacy, could also play a role in the fight against online fraud or in the sharing of data other than your identity details. We believe it is very important to continue investing in this area and are therefore very pleased to welcome FPIM as a shareholder.”

Pandemic “Passport”

itsme was in the news from the latest collaboration as a login for the CovidSafe.be app of the Belgian government. Belgians can use this “corona passport” to claim that they have been vaccinated, have passed a negative PCR test, or have built up immunity. The application has been available since Wednesday 16 June and more than 1 million Belgians have already registered via itsme.

Stephanie De Bruyne, CEO of itsme, says, “The extra success of the last 2 weeks ensures a further anchoring of itsme in Belgian society. At the same time, such projects confirm that itsme is completely there and ready to play on the international stage. We are very pleased that shareholders endorse our growth plans and reaffirm their confidence in such a convincing way. I am convinced that together we can write a very beautiful story.”

Let’s talk numbers

The company reported that a lot of Belgian private companies and public institutions offer their customers and users itsme as it enables them to identify themselves online, log in, confirm actions, and transactions and sign documents electronically. 

About 20 per cent of the active population in Belgium already use itsme account. Since the recognition of this app by the Belgian government in 2018 and the then 125,000 users, their number has increased to 12-fold. Currently, in Belgium, the app has 3.5 million users and an average of 3,500 are added every day. In addition, each month the company witnesses almost 5 million transactions with itsme site.

About 45 per cent of the adult Belgian population has meanwhile created an itsme account.

On average, Belgians use this app between 7 and 10 times a month with 150 partners. This counts more than 18.5 million itsme authentications per month, both at private companies and government portals.