STAYING SECURE IN A CASHLESS SOCIETY
BLOCKCHAIN
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Johnson ’ s single sign-on vision this presents more of an opportunity . “ It actually gets more convenient with all the security , because you ’ re not passing around usernames and passwords : you ’ re verifying ID across a network . So , it ’ s a lot more secure and convenient – you get the best of both worlds .”
STAYING SECURE IN A CASHLESS SOCIETY
In an increasingly cashless landscape , Johnson explains how a single sign-on system using blockchain will enable various societies to complete the transition away from cash and even card . “ Now we have the technology to leapfrog plastic with a funded digital identity which can then be associated with a digital watch or fitness band . It ’ s crazy that we ’ re still relying on this bit of plastic with a chip to come through in the post a week after it ’ s been cloned ,” Johnson argues , adding that cashless has yet to go far enough . “ Even though you have Apple Pay and Android Pay , we ’ re still adding a plastic card of information to make that work as a secure payment source . At Nuggets , were saying ‘ why don ’ t I add my digital
“ If a business doesn ’ t log the personal data in their centralised silos in the first place , it can ’ t be breached ”
— Alastair Johnson , Founder and CEO , Nuggets
ID to that payment app , so it allows access to my payment but I don ’ t need a plastic card that the numbers can be copied off ?’”
Tying in with the development of open banking which will involve closer collaboration and data sharing , Johnson feels that the future of ID technology should be agnostic . “ In the past , you ’ ve seen a lot of wallet apps from different schemes , but wouldn ’ t it make sense that they all tied back to the same APIs and services ? When
FEBRUARY 2019