BankID Access Expanded to More Norwegians
Starting in 2026, **BankID**, Norway’s widely-used electronic identification service, will become accessible to approximately 400,000 more Norwegians currently excluded due to ineligibility for traditional bank accounts.
Key Development
Currently, only individuals approved for a bank account can obtain a **BankID**. This restriction affects nearly 400,000 people in Norway. However, this long-standing requirement is set to change as ownership shifts.
Since its creation in 2004, the bank has been the only way to obtain a **BankID**. Now, BankShift reports major revisions are coming next year.
New Issuer Takes Over
The responsibility for issuing **BankID** is transitioning from individual banks to **Stø**, the parent company of **BankID** and **BankAxept**. This change aims to broaden access to the digital identification service.
**Øyvind Brekke**, CEO of **Stø**, stated:
“We have just agreed with the banks on how to solve the contractual and business aspects that they will no longer be formal issuers of **BankID**.”—Øyvind Brekke, CEO of Stø
**Brekke** anticipates the first **BankID** issued by **Stø** will be available in early 2026. As more Norwegians use digital identification, the number of identity theft cases has risen, with 12,771 incidents reported in 2023, according to Statistics Norway.
Widespread Use
**BankID** is used almost a billion times annually for secure identification and digital signatures. Currently, 4.6 million Norwegians use it to access roughly 16,000 public and private online services.
The upcoming changes promise to include a significant portion of the population in Norway’s digital infrastructure.
