Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has had discussions with relevant stakeholders on the potential merits of using non-fungible tokens to replace paper identification required to (a) open a bank account and (b) access (i) loans, (ii) mortgages, (iii) credit cards, (iv) investment opportunities and (v) other financial instruments.

The Government recognises the widespread benefits of digital identity use.

HM Treasury’s Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs) 2017 require banks and other regulated financial firms to verify a customer’s identity to open, access or maintain a bank account or other financial products. The MLRs do not impose a preference in how a regulated firm should verify its customers’ identities, either using traditional paper or digital identity sources.