Affinidi pilots digital hiring passport for India-Singapore

Affinidi has launched a pilot programme with Singapore's Infocomm Media Development Authority and background screening firms that uses verifiable digital credentials for cross-border hiring, starting with the Singapore-India corridor.

The Singapore-based data and identity management company said the initiative focuses on a long-running problem in recruitment. Background checks for job candidates often rely on manual verification and can take between five and fifteen days. Employers face higher costs and longer hiring cycles under those conditions.

The pilot also targets growing concerns about document fraud in hiring. Gartner has forecast that by 2028 one in four hiring profiles will be fraudulent. Screening providers and employers face higher risk when processes remain paper-based and fragmented across borders.

Digital 'professional passport'

Affinidi's system turns the outputs of background screening into cryptographically signed verifiable credentials. The credentials sit in a digital wallet controlled by the candidate. The design allows the individual to present the same verified information to multiple potential employers without repeating checks each time.

Affinidi said this structure creates a reusable professional "passport" for jobseekers. It reduces the need for candidates to submit identical documents repeatedly. It also shortens verification times from weeks to minutes once the credentials are in place.

The solution uses World Wide Web Consortium Verifiable Credentials standards. It also uses Decentralised Identifiers. These technical frameworks anchor the digital records in tamper-evident cryptographic proofs rather than scanned documents or email trails.

The company said the approach replaces manual document checks with cryptographic verification that can run almost instantaneously. The architecture supports interoperability between different systems on both sides of a border. This structure aims to decrease integration and operational costs in hiring workflows and allows background screening providers to plug into shared credential ecosystems.

Industry partners

Affinidi is working with several background screening providers in the pilot. These include Avvanz, eeCheck and Risk Management Intelligence. The companies are exploring how reusable credentials can change their operating models for employment verification.

The pilot positions screening firms as recurring verification partners rather than one-off service providers. They can issue credentials that employers and other relying parties can check on demand. The firms continue to play an assurance role by conducting the original verification before a credential is issued.

Affinidi framed the project as part of a wider shift towards a data-sharing infrastructure based on individual control. It said employment checks are an initial use case for a broader verifiable data layer across sectors.

"We're not just solving hiring inefficiencies, we're creating the foundation for a trust-based digital economy," said Glenn Gore, CEO of Affinidi. "What starts with employment verification between India and Singapore demonstrates how the same can be applied to transform access to healthcare, financial services, education, and beyond. When individuals own and control their data, entire economies operate more efficiently and with trust."

Beyond hiring

The pilot links with ongoing policy attention in Singapore on digital identity, cross-border data flows and trusted records for trade and talent movement. Authorities have examined ways that digital credentials based on open standards could sit alongside existing national identity schemes and sector-specific registries.

Verifiable credentials also feature in global discussions about cross-border recognition of qualifications. Governments and industry bodies have studied how digitally signed education and professional records could lower friction for skilled workers moving between jurisdictions.

Chek-Tchung Foo, Executive Director of Public Policy at the Global Financial Talent Network, pointed to parallels with earlier digitisation waves in finance. "Just as the adoption of digital technologies and international standards have dramatically transformed the financial sector and enhanced interoperability, the use of digital verifiable credentials has the ability to further engender trust and ensure that the best talent pools can be identified and tapped," said Foo. "This will also unlock new pathways towards the seamless flow of talent and skills across borders, which will power us towards the long-term objective of accelerating and modernising economies."

Affinidi said the pilot lays a basic layer for frictionless cross-border verification. It said individuals, businesses and their partners would be able to rely on a common trust framework as more sectors adopt similar credential formats and infrastructure.