Romania To Introduce OpenID Standard For Online Payment

The operation will be possible with the introduction of an identification standard called OpenID, technology that allows accessing web pages with the introduction of an ID code created with a provider of identity guarantee services, such as mobile phone operators or banks.

The ID code will be authenticated by the ID provider and will send the necessary information to the accessed web page, certifying the user’s identity.

"We think that, in a few months, more telecom operators and banks in Romania will start providing identity guarantee services using OpenID. When one accesses a website of a mayoralty to submit and application or pay a tax, the operator or bank becomes certifies one’s identity using an identification code," Constantin Teodorescu, state secretary in the Ministry of Communication and Information Technology, said Friday at a seminar.

He added telecom operators Vodafone, Orange, Cosmote, Telemobil and Romtelecom and lender Bancpost have expressed intention to introduce the OpenID standard on the Romanian market.

The OpenID was created in 2006 and was adopted by several companies including IBM, Verisign, Yahoo!, Google and Microsoft.

Teodorescu added the ministry is preparing a normative act to regulate the activity of identity guarantee providers, which could be adopted in two or three months.