Say what? I can now buy a park pass for Yosemite using my Facebook account?
Date: June 27, 2019
The short and long answer is “no”. But now that we've got your attention, let's explore why not.
If you can login to websites using your Google or Facebook account in the private sector, why can’t you do the same with government websites to buy a park pass for Yosemite, check your Social Security benefits statement, or buy a bond?
To protect both the citizen’s privacy and government assets, the government has strict standards it needs to meet to secure its websites. Although you can’t login to government websites using Google or Facebook, you CAN login using other similar services. Their names may not be as familiar, but they provide the end user the same ease and align with government security standards.
Login.gov (GSA service) and ID.me (private sector offering) are early entrants into an emerging market of credential service providers (CSPs) building products to meet government needs. Many agencies, including the Fiscal Service, are piloting and exploring CSP options today. As demand grows, so may the opportunity for more providers. Trends show that other types of security companies and even financial institutions may offer this service.
We won’t tell your boss if you’ve logged into USAjobs, but if you’ve done that lately, you were asked to create an account with Login.gov to access USAjobs. After creating that Login.gov account, you can use it to access other government websites such as the Trusted Traveler program. Similarly, Vets.gov offers veterans the option to login using ID.me. Once you set up that identity in ID.me, you can use it to access a host of other public and private websites.
So, why is the Bureau of the Fiscal Service (Fiscal Service) interested in tracking this market? As we say in The Future of Federal Financial Management, we’re committed to a customer experience that is modern, seamless, and secure. Also, it allows Fiscal Service business lines to operate in a more efficient way, focusing on their core mission of transacting business with their end users, rather than creating and managing identities.