Are digital ID cards really A GOOD IDEA?

After the government announced plans to introduce a new digital ID system, it has left us all divided

- FRANCES LEATE

These days life can seem like an endless stream of passwords, codes and verification messages, and we're still often required to produce many different forms of identification, whether we're trying to open a new bank account, book a flight, access government services, take out a loan, start a new job, or buy a house.

Proving who we are, in a fully digital and online world where scammers lurk in every corner, isn’t always easy.

But with government proposals to introduce a ‘one-stop shop’ Digital ID Card - where someone can simply swipe a QR code to help verify your identity - will we see the end of this particular laborious part of life admin? Or will the new system be yet another way the government can keep tabs on us, following our every move just like our smartphones already seem to do, monitoring our online behaviour to tailor which ads and content to push our way. And then, of course, there's the worry about being stopped by authorities in the street and asked to show our ID. We investigate what digital ID cards will really mean for us and if they are a good or bad idea...

'IT ISN'T SCARY, IT'S JUST COMMON SENSE'

Rachael Penn, 42, lives in Newport, South Wales, with her husband, Chris, 42.