A total of 11 providers and portals now accept UNIPASS following both Friends Provident and Clerical Medical going live with UNIPASS. Both providers now accept UNIPASS on their UK extranets, replacing the need for individual passwords and user names.
UNIPASS, which was launched by Origo, the technology standards body for the financial services industry, is fast becoming the industry standard method for entering portals and providers' extranets. Both Friends Provident and Clerical Medical decided to adopt the UNIPASS system due to its increasingly widespread use by the financial services industry and its benefits both in terms of ease of use and security.
There are currently just under 5,000 financial advisers using the system. With more than 20,000 people registered between the Friends Provident and Clerical Medical sites, the adoption numbers will continue to increase.
UNIPASS is free to IFAs and is paid for by providers. It gives financial advisers a secure, unique online identity, providing them with access to all the services they use on the internet with the use of one simple 'digital key'.
According to Graham Harvey, director of marketing at Friends Provident: "We expect 80% of our UK IFA business to be carried out online within the next two years. UNIPASS will therefore be a vital part of this transition making life easier for IFAs and reducing the number of passwords they have to manage.
"It has been very encouraging to see the growing use of UNIPASS certificates throughout the industry and we have had a real demand for the product from both IFAs and partners."
This announcement follows the recent news that UNIPASS received the Pensions Management award for 'Most innovative technological application'. While Origo did not enter the award themselves, it was nominated by IFAs and providers within the industry, which reflects the success of the product.
Nathan McGurl, brand development manager at Clerical Medical, also commented: "The system has been in place for a few weeks and already the take up has been exceptional. A quarter of the IFAs accessing our extranet are using UNIPASS and we are already seeing the benefit as UNIPASS users seem to visit more than the traditional username and password users."
Launched in 2002, UNIPASS is now being accepted by 11 institutions including: AXA, Scottish Equitable, Standard Life, Norwich Union, Prudential, Skandia, CoFunds, Webline, IFAEngine, Clerical Medical, and Friends Provident.
Paul Pettitt, managing director of Origo, commented: "It is a great to see that both the providers and portals are all adopting the UNIPASS system and working together to make this industry initiative a success. The more financial advisers who register with UNIPASS, the more the benefits will be reaped by the providers and advisers in the long term."
For more information about the certificates and to obtain a UNIPASS digital certificate, please visit: www.unipass.co.uk.
