Website →

SpruceID Blog

Thoughtful perspectives on identity, interoperability, and the systems that turn public policy into usable services.

Why Government Digital Transformation Projects Fail
Digital Transformation

Why Government Digital Transformation Projects Fail

Most government digital transformation projects fail not because of bad technology, but because they optimize for launch instead of completion and treat modernization as a portal project instead of an infrastructure investment.
What Is a Customer Identification Program (CIP), and How Do Digital Credentials Change It?
Zero Trust

What Is a Customer Identification Program (CIP), and How Do Digital Credentials Change It?

The Customer Identification Program rule requires banks to verify customer identity at account opening. The FinCEN ruling changes what counts as acceptable evidence.
The FinCEN Ruling Proves Digital Identity Is Financial Infrastructure
Digital Identity

The FinCEN Ruling Proves Digital Identity Is Financial Infrastructure

When federal banking regulators recognize verifiable digital credentials for customer identification, digital identity stops being a government IT project and becomes financial infrastructure.
How to Design HR1 Verification Without Creating a New Identity Barrier
Digital Identity

How to Design HR1 Verification Without Creating a New Identity Barrier

Identity proofing, authentication, evidence verification, and eligibility determination are four different functions. States designing HR1 systems should separate them to protect program integrity without creating new barriers.
Zero Trust Data Exchange: Why the Data Layer Is the Real Frontier
Zero Trust

Zero Trust Data Exchange: Why the Data Layer Is the Real Frontier

Zero trust for government services means more than network segmentation. At the data layer, systems need to verify the provenance and integrity of information without trusting the network or system that delivered it.
Why States Are Paying Attention to SEDI
Digital Identity

Why States Are Paying Attention to SEDI

The central digital identity question for states is shifting from whether residents can prove who they are online to what rules should govern the identity ecosystem itself. Utah's SEDI framework offers one answer.
What’s the Difference Between a Digital Wallet and a Digital Credential?
Digital Identity

What’s the Difference Between a Digital Wallet and a Digital Credential?

Digital credentials prove facts, digital wallets protect and share them. Keeping those roles separate is what makes secure, interoperable identity possible.
Can a Bank Actually Verify a Mobile Driver's License?
Interoperability

Can a Bank Actually Verify a Mobile Driver's License?

The FinCEN ruling says banks can accept digital credentials. But accepting is not the same as verifying. Most banks lack the cryptographic infrastructure to validate what they receive.
The SEDI Digital Identity Bill of Rights, Explained
Digital Identity

The SEDI Digital Identity Bill of Rights, Explained

Utah's SEDI framework enumerates 11 rights for individuals, from selective disclosure and freedom from surveillance to wallet choice and physical identity protections. Here is what each right means in practice.
What the FinCEN VDC Ruling Means for State mDL Programs
Digital Identity

What the FinCEN VDC Ruling Means for State mDL Programs

Federal regulators have confirmed banks can accept mobile driver's licenses for customer identification. For the 22 states with mDL programs, this ruling creates a new adoption driver beyond TSA checkpoints.
What Is an Identity Gateway?
Interoperability

What Is an Identity Gateway?

An identity gateway lets government agencies accept digital credentials from multiple wallets, formats, and issuers through a single standards-based integration point.
When an AI Agent Acts on Behalf of a Resident
Digital Identity

When an AI Agent Acts on Behalf of a Resident

Government services assume the person interacting is the person acting. AI agents challenge that assumption, creating new questions about authorization, identity proofing, and auditability.