Evidence-based support for the design and delivery of user-centred online public services.
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Population survey statistics
Population survey statistics
eGovernment Chart 22: Identification methods for eGovernment
eUSER population survey 2005
Chart 22: Identification methods for eGovernment
| DE | FR | IT | DK | UK | IE | PL | HU | CZ | SI | Overall sample | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| User ID & password | 48.7 | 70.4 | 78.1 | 72.4 | 68.4 | 70.2 | 32.4 | 69.9 | 41.5 | 54.8 | 60.7 |
| PIN code | 33.4 | 15.9 | 60.8 | 54.8 | 33.9 | 47.7 | 33.2 | 30.0 | 41.0 | 28.0 | 31.8 |
| Credit card | 12.9 | 21.6 | 29.7 | 29.8 | 32.7 | 54.9 | 9.8 | 16.8 | 14.7 | 11.7 | 23.5 |
| SMS messaging | 3.1 | 4.9 | 37.0 | 9.0 | 11.2 | 17.3 | 33.7 | 31.7 | 40.8 | 13.0 | 20.2 |
| Digital Signature | 9.1 | 9.7 | 17.6 | 27.9 | 8.8 | 21.7 | 4.6 | 7.4 | 13.2 | 30.0 | 15.0 |
| Specialised smart cards | 3.7 | 0.4 | 11.6 | 2.0 | 5.4 | 3.8 | 8.7 | 1.5 | 15.0 | 9.8 | 6.2 |
Base: respondents who had contact with government via Internet, email or SMS.
As Chart 22 above shows, there are marked differences in the use of the currently available user identification methods, with the most used tending to be the simplest, cheapest and least secure, though for the most commonly used eGovernment services arguably secure enough. In terms of ease of use, differences are slight; only the use of digital signatures is a little lower than the others. However, it is probable that once citizens get used to a particular method, it's ease of use from their perspective increases.
There are also important differences between countries, with Italy leading on the use of user ID/password and PIN codes, compared to Poland which has the lowest use of these. Indeed two of the four New Member States (Poland and the Czech Republic) do not show the pattern typical of the eight other countries in which user ID/password and PIN codes are by far the most common methods. The data seem to indicate that in these two countries at least, some focus and investment has been made on more 'advanced' methods, particularly the use of specialised smart cards, in comparison with the other methods. In terms of the most 'advanced' methods, Slovenia and Denmark leads on the use of digital signatures and the Czech Republic on the use of specialised smart cards. The very high use of credit cards in Ireland is probably related to the fact that some revenue raising transaction services (such as motor tax) are now fully available online.
