What You Should Know About Singapore’s MyInfo Service
Why should you read this?
Research shows that an average online form has over 14 fields. This could be a source of frustration for users, as they often need to manually fill in these fields. To eliminate this unnecessary task while still collecting credible data, the MyInfo service may be an optimal solution.
MyInfo is a government database service that has transformed the verification process in Singapore. It was launched in 2016 as an auto-filling tool for digital documents. In 2018, the service expanded to the private sector. Today, MyInfo extends far beyond Singapore and is available to businesses worldwide.
In this article, we answer the most frequently asked questions about MyInfo to help you stay up to date.
What is MyInfo?
MyInfo is a digital service platform run by the Singapore Government. The platform stores personal data on users collected from different public agencies. In particular, MyInfo helps citizens fill in digital forms automatically when performing online transactions.
The service can be used to open bank accounts, apply for credit cards and loans, or sign up for a variety of other services provided by major banks like DBS, OCBC, and UOB. All this is possible without visiting a branch or uploading any supporting documents.
MyInfo is linked to Singapore Personal Access (SingPass) accounts. Together, these services are vital to the National Digital Identity (NDI) project, part of Singapore’s Smart Nation drive—an initiative introduced to provide greater online convenience and transactional security for citizens and businesses.
What is MyInfo used for?
The platform allows access to over 600 digital services provided by some 340 government agencies and businesses from various sectors, including telecommunications, utilities, banking and finance.
The available services include insurance, online payments, identity verification, loan applications, investment account openings, car-sharing and much more. The list of participating services can be found here.
How does it work?
Users provide consent to share their personal data, which MyInfo compiles from various government agencies. As a result, the MyInfo system auto-fills forms for users. Document verification is not required since the account authenticates the users’ identity using government data.
Customers have total control over the usage of their data. So, if users do not consent to MyInfo processing their personal data, they can opt to fill out forms manually and submit any supporting documents required.
What information can you pull from it?
The data fields used by MyInfo are relevant to common transactions:
- Personal details (name, date of birth, nationality, passport number, etc.);
- Contact (mobile number, email address, registered address, etc.);
- Finance (CPF details, yearly assessable income, etc.);
- Employment & education;
- Family (marital status, marriage date, etc.);
- Vehicles & driving licence;
- Property ownership.
All MyInfo data is retrieved from government sources (finance, property, etc) or provided by the user (contact info, marital status, etc) and stored across multiple systems safeguarded by a combination of end-to-end encryption and multi-layered security. For a more detailed catalog of the data used by MyInfo, click here.
How do businesses use the service?
MyInfo helps businesses obtain customer information instantly, while reducing the time needed to verify the information.
With MyInfo, businesses can optimise their onboarding process. When dealing with online forms, they can decide which fields are pre-filled automatically with government-verified data, removing a significant burden on users.
For instance, employees of Singapore’s DBS banked used to manually process several documents (and contact clients directly for clarification) in order to open new accounts. Today, DBS delivers services much faster, as MyInfo pre-fills all required client information. UK-based money transfer service, TransferWise, made it easier for Singaporean citizens and residents to transfer funds internationally by enabling instant user verification with MyInfo’s high-quality government data.
What is MyInfo Business?
Launched in January 2019, Myinfo Business is an extension of the MyInfo platform that includes corporate data. Since then, business owners and officers from all around the world can share their corporate data fast and securely.
With the consent of the business owner, MyInfo Business automatically populates online forms with business data, including the corporate profile, business address, ownership information, financial highlights, shareholders, grants and more. You can find a detailed data catalog here.
MyInfo Business facilitates government-to-business (G2B) digital services, such as grant applications to the Business Grants Portal. Companies can also retrieve data from corporate clients during business-to-business (B2B) online transactions. These may include corporate account openings, credit assessments, and loan applications at major Singapore banks for small and medium enterprises.
How to integrate MyInfo and MyInfo Business APIs
Businesses can integrate their existing web forms with MyInfo and MyInfo Business Application Programming Interfaces (APIs). APIs are suitable for application forms related to account openings, loan applications, job applications, investment applications, and so on.
The NDI Developer and Partner Portal allows businesses to submit link-up requests for these APIs. It also provides sample codes, a demo application, use cases, and step-by-step guides on how to integrate with APIs. There are no charges for using the portal.
To integrate with MyInfo or MyInfo Business, businesses need to:
- Browse the available APIs in the API Library and read through the key principles and guidelines;
- Design the user journey for their application using the templates provided;
- Submit a linkup request for approval; upon approval, an App ID will be generated for their application;
- Submit their App configuration and deploy the application.
Businesses can use their CorpPass credentials to log in to the portal. CorpPass is a Singapore corporate digital identity used by businesses to access government digital services. Corppass accounts are linked to Singpass ID.
Note: Starting from 11 April 2021, the login process for Corppass has changed to verify user identities via Singpass first. Foreign ID users will be issued a Singpass foreign user account (SFA) and the ‘Corppass 2FA for Foreigners’ app will no longer be used.
Let’s look at some numbers:
The MyInfo platform has already helped cut application times by 80% and verification costs by over 30%. Conversion rates have gone up significantly while rates have stayed competitive. Furthermore, transaction approval rates have increased by 15% thanks to the data quality of the MyInfo platform.
Conclusion
The Singapore Government established the Smart Nation initiative to improve the lives of Singaporeans through technology and make the country one of the most attractive places to do business. And one of the core tenets of building a Smart Nation is to make digital transactions user-friendly and seamless.
Thanks to MyInfo, filling out lengthy forms manually is now a thing of the past. By integrating MyInfo into their offerings, businesses improve customer service as well as their internal business processes.
To date, close to 600 digital services have been onboarded to Myinfo and the platform sees more than 200,000 transactions a day. And it’s clear that businesses operating in the economy of Singapore need to take note.
