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BankID BankAxept

BankID BankAxept AS is full speed ahead, aiming for rapid innovation, renewal, and added value to our rock-solid services within eID and payments.

Two people playing cards at a table

July 19, 2022 marked a significant day for BankID BankAxept. It was the day we demerged from Vipps and became our own company after four exciting years together. However, the work on BankID and BankAxept began much earlier.

BankID

In 2004, the first Norwegian customers received BankID. The Norwegian banking industry had worked for several years to develop a common infrastructure. Today, 4.4 million Norwegians have BankID, and it is used by all the country's banks, the government, and an increasing number of businesses in various industries. Norwegian banks handle customer verification and the issueing of BankID to individuals, while we operate on a reseller model to increase our presence in the market.

The use of BankID has steadily increased since its inception, and in 2021, we reached nearly a billion logins and signatures. To meet the market's need for simpler login solutions, we launched BankID with biometrics in 2023. Authentication at the "substatial" level of assurance is common elsewhere in Europe, and this is where we anticipate most future traffic to occur. BankID with the highest level of security will be used where extra security is required, such as when signing important agreements, transferring large sums, or handling sensitive personal data.

Electronic identification with BankID meets government requirements for identity verification and binding electronic signatures. BankID is registered on the EU's list of trusted services for use across borders in Europe. BankID can be used by all businesses seeking secure and straightforward online identification.

A person logging in with BankID

BankAxept

BankAxept traces its origins back to the deployment of ATMs in the late 1970s and payment terminals placed at sales points from the early 1980s. The brand name "BankAxept" was established in 1990, and in 1991, a common operational infrastructure was created. In the early 1990s, various Norwegian banking systems were integrated, and banks established a common electronic payment solution for in-store transactions.

BankAxept payment cards initially featured a magnetic stripe on the back of the card, which was swiped through the payment terminal during transactions. To enhance security, all BankAxept cards are now equipped with a chip, and since December 2011, it has no longer been possible to use the magnetic stripe on BankAxept cards in Norway.

BankAxept is the national payment system in Norway, and eight out of ten card payments in stores are made with a BankAxept card. We have already transitioned to online payments with card tokenization in several markets.

Learn more at bankaxept.no.