The online ID card in customer contact: what works today

Many requests are discussed in two minutes and then take two weeks. The reason is almost always the same: it has to be certain who is calling. So an ID copy is requested, a letter is sent or an appointment is booked.

The online ID card can close that gap, not only in the portal but in a live contact. This post shows how it works and what it means for your processes.

#What the online ID card is

The online ID is the electronic identification function built into the German identity card, the electronic residence permit and the eID card for citizens of the EU and the EEA.

For the identity card, the legal basis is section 18 of the German ID Card Act. Anyone aged 16 or over can use it to prove their identity electronically to authorities and businesses.

#What the provider needs

A business or authority cannot simply read data from the card. Under section 21 of the ID Card Act, every service provider needs an authorisation, secured technically by an authorisation certificate. The certificate defines which data may be requested.

Before the customer enters the PIN, they see who is asking and which categories of data will be transmitted. Data minimisation is therefore not just a principle here; it is built into the procedure.

#Where it belongs in the conversation

The online ID does not belong at the start of every call. It belongs at the point where a request needs certainty: changing bank details, giving information about a case, concluding a contract.

In the Univerx Channel it looks like this:

1. Send a link: the agent sends a link by SMS, email or chat. It opens in the browser, with no download.
2. Confirm: the customer sees the provider and the requested data, and confirms with card and PIN.
3. Carry on: the result appears in the case. The conversation continues without a break.
4. Record: time and result of the identification are stored on the case.

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Online ID card✓ Identity confirmed

Shared view

SignatureSigned

The Univerx Channel is designed for identification with the online ID card and with eIDAS identities. Which eID service is connected in a given project is something we settle together with you.

#An everyday example

A policyholder calls because their bank details have changed. Until now that meant a form by post, a signature, sending it back, and data entry. Two weeks, if nothing is missing.

With the online ID in the conversation, they confirm their identity via link and PIN while the agent stays on the line.

They enter the new bank details themselves in the shared view. If a signature is needed, it follows in the same flow. The result is on the case before the call ends.

#What agents see

The agent desktop does not show the card; it shows the result: confirmed or not, plus the data the request needs. For a change of address that is the address; for an age check it may only be confirmation that a threshold is met.

That changes the agent's role too. Nobody has to judge whether an ID copy looks genuine any more. Agents work with a result that the procedure itself secures.

#What changes in your processes

The biggest effect usually lies not in identification itself but in what it makes possible next. A request that used to be spread over several contacts can be completed in one.

How identity, shared view and signature work together is described in Citizen service without broken hand-offs.

#eIDAS and the EUDI wallet

At European level, the eIDAS regulation governs electronic identification and trust services. Regulation (EU) 2024/1183 adds the European Digital Identity Wallet, which every member state has to provide.

For customer contact this means identification will run not only through the ID card but also through a wallet on the phone. The Univerx Channel is prepared for the EUDI wallet. For more context, see eIDAS & online ID in the Trust Center.

#Limits, stated plainly

Not every customer has their PIN to hand or a phone with NFC. The online ID is therefore an offer, not an obligation. A second route has to remain, for people without an online-enabled card and for the moment the technology fails.

#First steps

How identification connects with social data protection is covered in Social data protection in the contact centre. The term itself is explained in the glossary under Online ID card.