Affinidi, Commons Project push reopening of borders

Affinidi, a Singapore-based company founded by Temasek, and The Commons Project Foundation have teamed up to leverage Affinidi’s digital credential verification solution to enable the safe reopening of borders around the world as international travel resumes. 

Travelers arriving at Singapore’s Changi Airport with the CommonPass digital health pass can now digitally verify their health status with Singapore Immigration and streamline border entry using the technology.

Under the partnership, travelers on a test flight on Japan Airlines from Japan to Singapore last April 5 were able to use CommonPass to access and present their health records to immigration officers to validate their COVID-19 status using Affinidi’s solution.

The solution will be accessible to members of the CommonTrust Network, a global network launched by The Commons Project Foundation and the World Economic Forum (WEF) to ensure that verifiable lab results and vaccination records from trusted sources are presented to authorities in a privacy-preserving manner. 

Relevant stakeholders can use digital credentials technology provided by Affinidi for cross-border verification of health documents such as vaccination status and COVID-19 test results, which is key to restarting international travel.

Built on the CommonTrust Network, the CommonPass platform lets travelers digitally collect their lab results and vaccination records from health data sources in the CommonTrust Network and demonstrate that those records meet the health screening requirements of their international destinations. 

CommonPass is rapidly being adopted by governments and digital verification organizations worldwide, and leading global airlines, including ANA, Cathay Pacific, Japan Airlines, JetBlue, Lufthansa and United Airlines.

“Verifying health credentials is becoming more complex and critical to countries opening up their borders, and governments and travelers alike need advanced and secure solutions to tackle these challenges,” said Glenn Gore, CEO of Affinidi. 

“Through working with partners like The Commons Project Foundation, we look forward to building a global ecosystem that provides a simpler traveler experience by leveraging our open and interoperable digital credential verification solution and contributing to greater confidence in international travel again,” said Core.

Paul Meyer, CEO of The Commons Project Foundation, said their registry of health data sources — information from labs, pharmacies, hospitals, and health departments — is essential to giving the public the confidence to once again travel, attend events and enjoy all the activities they did prior to COVID-19.