For many citizens, the maze of municipal allowances is difficult to navigate. What allowances and schemes exist? What are you entitled to? And how do you prevent applying for something you ultimately turn out not to be eligible for, with the risk of repayments or even financial problems? These uncertainties cause people to miss out on allowances. Sometimes due to ignorance, sometimes out of fear of making mistakes, and often also because of complex, time-consuming application procedures full of complicated forms. On the other hand, there are also cases where people deliberately provide incorrect information and thus wrongfully receive allowances. It is virtually impossible for municipalities to personally approach every resident with the allowances they might be eligible for. The operational costs and efforts are simply too great for the municipalities.
The benefits check via an identity app
In the Digital Identity Pilot, we have translated this problem together with the municipality of Nijmegen, Ver.iD and other consortium partners into a practical solution: the benefits check via identity apps.
With this check, citizens can see in a safe and simple way which municipal schemes they are eligible for. Without having to read dozens of pages first or fill out complex forms. Which, incidentally, often ask for the same information.
The benefits check works in two steps:
- The citizen retrieves data from reliable sources in their identity app, such as marital status, study status or income indication. This happens completely under the citizen's control. This data is cryptographically signed by the source and stored in the citizen's identity app.
- Subsequently, the citizen automatically shares only the relevant data previously retrieved from a reliable source with the benefits check website using the identity app. Based on the validated data, the citizen automatically gets to see a selection of only the allowances they are eligible for.
For example: does step 1 show that you are a student? Then you won't get a proposal for the 'bus subscription benefit' scheme (because you already have a student travel product), but you will get the opportunity to apply for study allowance.
This approach makes it easier for citizens to use services, while simultaneously reducing the chance of incorrect applications and subsequent repayments. Because the application is based on correct and reliable data, fraud is also prevented.
Less administration, more impact
For the municipality, this means a significant reduction in administrative burden. There is no longer a need to manually go through each file. And thanks to the controlled data exchange via the identity app, the risk of errors and fraud also decreases. Moreover, this approach increases accessibility for groups that normally have more difficulty finding their way in the digital landscape. By working with an identity app that is designed to be comprehensible and user-friendly, service delivery becomes more inclusive and you reach precisely those people who benefit from it most.
What's coming?
The allowance check is one of the concrete applications within the Digital Identity Pilot consortium in which we use identity apps for contemporary problems within the service delivery of the Municipality of Nijmegen.
Want to know more about how identity apps contribute to more targeted municipal support? Or curious how this works in practice? Then visit the Municipality of Nijmegen event on June 25, 2025, where these solutions will be demonstrated live. You can register for this via the following link.
Contact us for a conversation about the possibilities for your municipality.