No more waiting in line in a government office: with a simple login, citizens can now identify themselves using Bank of Cyprus' 1bank and data verification service.

Identification is part of the bank's data verification service. Citizens who are Bank of Cyprus customers can now identify themselves through the 1bank service on the government gateway portal known as Ariadne where they can use government e-services that are available online.

Use of this Bank of Cyprus service may be expanded to other government departments and organisations, which will be able to offer e-services for which, up until now, people needed to be physically present to identify themselves. The roll-out of this service opens up avenues for the state to expand e-governance.

Having long developed this infrastructure, and leveraging its technical know-how from its digitization strategy, Bank of Cyprus is currently in a position to apply it to such an important area of activity, paving the way for citizens to access faster and more efficient services.

The thinking behind this endeavour is that Bank of Cyprus customers should not need to get in line, inconvenience themselves and waste valuable time in a government office simply to prove their identity. Now they are just a click away from accessing state services, by simply using their computer or mobile phone.

The initiative has received an initial positive response from the relevant public-sector departments, demonstrating an interest and desire in taking that leap towards e-governance.

Given Bank of Cyprus' vision, where the private sector and the government will jointly build this new digital economy, this pioneering venture has an excellent chance of success. It has been shown that whenever private initiative and the public sector join forces, together they can break new ground, giving a tremendous boost to all sectors. The introduction of this service is only the beginning.

Developing technology protocols is time-consuming and not an easy process. But when all stakeholders work closely together, the private sector can contribute greatly to deploying solutions for the common good. Moreover, the digital revolution is creating a paradigm shift, and at a fast pace. As it adapts to the new state of affairs, the state apparatus cannot afford to get bogged down in unnecessary delays. This is where the private sector can help provide the boost to take that leap forward.