Black Ink Tech and Incode Partner on Portable Digital Identity

Black Ink Technologies Corp and Incode have partnered to launch a universal digital identity solution that combines biometric verification with immutable ledger technology. By integrating Incode’s identity authentication into Black Ink Tech’s ChainIT platform, the collaboration aims to provide a transportable, consumer-controlled identity record that functions across physical, digital, and virtual environments without requiring new hardware.

What was announced

The partnership introduces a system that captures a user’s digital identity through Incode’s biometric technology and matches it against government records for validation. Once verified, this data is converted into Black Ink Tech’s Validated Data Tokens (VDT) and managed via the ChainIT platform. The resulting Individual Validated Data Token ID (IVDT-ID) is presented as a QR code, which contains a record of where, when, and how the identity was created, alongside the identity of the validator.

A key feature of the IVDT-ID is its device independence; it can be validated using standard hardware, such as a smartphone, without the need for the verifier to access government databases directly. Instead, the system relies on a permanent, immutable blockchain record to confirm authenticity. The solution is designed to be integrated into legacy systems and other markets, utilizing Incode’s existing biometric reach, which currently spans 184 countries and covers 61% of total global IDs.

The joint solution adheres to several international security and privacy standards. These include NIST FRVT testing, iBeta Level 2 ISO 30107-3 Presentation Attack Detection, and SOC 2 certification. The platform also supports compliance with Know Your Customer (KYC) and FATF regulations, the Privacy Shield Framework, GDPR, and CCPA. All data points within the system are further protected and tracked through Touch Audit enabled features.

"Together, we've cracked the nut on an identity issue that has plagued the industry for years. We've created a scaled, secure, and transportable universal digital identity solution that can be used anywhere, anytime, in the physical, digital, and even virtual worlds. What makes it even better is the individual, or consumer, owns and controls their digital identity and can choose what they share, or verify, and to whom. This is critical to operating on truth in the digital world while maintaining consumer driven privacy."

Jeremy Blackburn, CEO of Black Ink Tech

The companies involved

Incode is a prominent provider of digital biometric verification and identification authentication solutions. The company focuses on creating secure consumer experiences through its next-generation identity platform, which has analyzed thousands of unique identifications globally. With a presence in nearly 200 countries, Incode has established itself as a major player in the global identity-as-a-service (IDaaS) market, providing the infrastructure necessary for high-stakes verification in finance and other regulated sectors.

Black Ink Technologies Corp is a digital pioneer that specializes in connecting physical objects, services, and events to permanent, graded data records. The company utilizes immutable ledger technology to ensure data integrity and transparency. Its ChainIT platform serves as the foundation for this partnership, providing the blockchain architecture required to make digital identities transportable and verifiable across different systems. By focusing on the intersection of physical reality and digital records, Black Ink Tech aims to provide a "truth" layer for digital interactions, allowing for secure data exchange without the constant need for centralized database queries.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has followed Incode’s expansion through several strategic partnerships aimed at streamlining verification in the fintech sector. In May 2023, the publication covered how Mama Money and Incode Partnership Revolutionizes Customer Verification for Cross-Border Payments, focusing on the reduction of friction in international remittances. Prior to that, in October 2022, FF News reported that Incode Announces Strategic Partnership with Sardine to bolster fraud prevention and compliance. The company’s long-term strategy was also highlighted in 2019 when INCODE DELIVERS SEAMLESS AND SECURE CONSUMER EXPERIENCES WITH NEXT-GENERATION DIGITAL IDENTITY PLATFORM, marking its early moves into the digital identity space.

What this means

This announcement moves the needle on the concept of "portable" identity, shifting the burden of verification away from repeated database pings and toward a decentralized, tokenized model. By allowing a smartphone to validate an identity via blockchain rather than a direct government link, the partnership reduces the technical barriers for smaller merchants and digital platforms to implement high-level KYC. This puts pressure on traditional identity bureaus that rely on gated access to centralized data. However, the success of such a system raises significant questions for the sector regarding the long-term interoperability of different blockchain-based identity tokens and whether consumers will embrace a single, "ubiquitous" digital ID across both physical and virtual worlds.