Transforming Government and Citizen Interactions with Verifiable Credentials

UltraPass ID uses Trinsic’s infrastructure to improve the security and convenience of civic experiences.

About

UltraPass ID is a decentralized trust platform that facilitates the movement of high value information across government agencies, programs, and jurisdictions. By harnessing the power of verifiable credentials in its platform, UltraPass transforms the constituent experience, empowering individuals and businesses to share their information simply and securely. Ultimately, UltraPass unlocks the potential for seamless civic engagement.

The problem

Eric Starr, now Co-founder & CEO of UltraPass ID, was sitting in his apartment in New York City, watching the news at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was horrified to see stories of his fellow New Yorkers applying for unemployment insurance only to have the systems crash. Those that were lucky enough to submit an application had to verify themselves with a phone call, and the lines were busy for days. A system that was put in place to support people at their time of need completely fell apart.

Eric started to ask two questions: 1) Why is it that we accept terrible digital experiences when engaging with government? and 2) Isn’t there a better way?

As a result, Eric set out to transform how constituents interact with government. As he dove deeper into the problem, he realized the reason that digital experiences are so poor is because our data is siloed. Government agencies, departments, and jurisdictions do not share constituents’ private information amongst themselves. Eric needed a solution that would connect the siloed sources of truth in government while still preserving data privacy.

The solution​

Eric discovered that the solution was found in the power of verifiable credentials, and UltraPass was born. UltraPass uses digital wallets and verifiable credential technology to accelerate the modernization of government services, enhance program accessibility, and reduce the risk of fraud and identity theft.

Within the UltraPass dashboard, government agencies issue credentials to individuals and businesses which they receive within an identity wallet (whether it be with a third-party wallet or a white labeled web wallet). The government agencies also publish credential templates to a marketplace via the dashboard. Relying parties, whether they be government agencies or commercial entities, select credential templates from the marketplace that they would like to start seamlessly verifying.

UltraPass uses Trinsic as its underlying infrastructure for provisioning and managing web-based digital wallets, as well as managing the credential lifecycle from credential creation, issuance, verification, and revocation. With Trinsic as its IDtech infrastructure partner, UltraPass can focus on building great digital experiences for its customers rather than spending hours reinventing the wheel. Additionally, Trinsic’s offerings provided the power of verifiable credentials out-of-the-box without forcing UltraPass to compromise on its vision and ideals of being interoperable and participating in an open ecosystem.

“From introduction to execution, UltraPass was able to begin issuing and verifying credentials within days and had our core platform offerings available in a few months. Our platform continues to evolve and respond to the needs of our customers; Trinsic empowers us to meet those needs with credential infrastructure that just works.”​
Eric Starr
Co-founder & CEO, UltraPass ID

UltraPass and the City of Los Angeles

The City of Los Angeles has partnered with UltraPass to help them undergo a digital transformation in advance of the 2028 Olympics. In preparation for the event, the city needs a lot of projects to be executed and a percentage of those projects will go to Disadvantaged Business Enterprises (DBEs). The City of Los Angeles is using UltraPass to remove the friction of verifying DBEs.

When a business applies for a project or bid within the City of Los Angeles’ procurement system, if applicable, they mark if they are a DBE. Historically, the procurement department would then need to verify that business is in fact a DBE by calling the agency that certified the business as a DBE. This verification process often takes weeks.

UltraPass simplifies the verification from the outset by enabling businesses to receive their DBE certification credential within a digital wallet which they are then prompted to share with the City of Los Angeles’ procurement system when applying for a project. The verification is done instantly, saving time, money, and frustration.

“Trinsic provides out of the box credential functionality to enable identity product development. Through great documentation and easy to use APIs, Trinsic takes the daunting tasks of credential management away and allows us to focus on our customers.”​
Eric Starr
Co-founder & CEO, UltraPass ID

Learn more

UltraPass is hyper-focused on improving the civic experience. The company is focused on expanding partnerships and creating amazing experiences for constituents. To learn more about UltraPass or to contact the team, visit the company website.

Additionally, learn more about the UltraPass story straight from its Co-founder & CEO Eric Starr on Trinsic’s podcast ‘The Future of Identity’.