Citizens Expect Better Digital Service Delivery from Government, Entrust Survey Finds

Citizens want convenient and secure digital interactions

MINNEAPOLIS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Entrust, a global leader in trusted identity, payments and data, today released results of a new multinational survey on Government to Citizen (G2C) Interactions. The survey of more than 3,500 citizens across six countries (U.S., Australia, Canada, France, Germany and U.K.) offers insights into the state of interactions between governments and their citizens, and the pain points that need to be addressed today.

As people become more accustomed to the convenience and speed of e-commerce interactions, they expect to see the same level of ease in all aspects of their lives – including when interacting with their governments. The majority of survey respondents (57%) said they prefer to conduct more of their interactions digitally, including access to government web portals (39%) and mobile applications (18%).

Additionally, prolonged wait times were cited as the number one pain point for interactions with the government (67% of respondents), followed by unclear instructions (32%) and inconsistent service levels (30%). These data points highlight the need for governments to provide their citizens more flexibility in how, when, and where they interact, and do so in a way that’s user-friendly for an overall better experience and delivery of services.

“During the pandemic, we saw an accelerated shift to digitization. While that’s a step in the right direction, there’s a lot of work to be done to ensure those digital interactions are easy to use and secure,” said Jenn Markey, Vice President of Product Marketing, Payments & Identity at Entrust. “Governments need to meet their citizens where they are and provide a thoughtful, unified and equitable approach to interactions and transactions. The governments that recognize the benefits of offering both digital and physical options will position themselves as a modern global leader.”

The survey found respondents have three key requirements from their government interactions above all else:

• Convenience (55%): Citizens want to be served when and where they need it and without having to wait too long.
• Secure, easy methods of identity verification (53%): Interactions should fit a consumer’s individual preferences, whether they prefer to verify their identity via digital biometrics or in person.
• Data privacy (49%): As cyberattacks continue to escalate in both the public and private sectors, citizens want to be assured that their data is secure.

Other preferences were selected in the following order: the ability to track progress (44%); self-service capabilities (44%); online forms (43%); consistent user experience across government agencies (36%), and the ability to engage on behalf of others (8%). In a previous Entrust survey of 1,450 citizens across 12 countries, seven out of 10 respondents said they would likely use a digital form of government-issued ID if one were available, citing improved convenience as the primary reason. Integrating digital identities into a government’s existing physical identity credential program can enable improved eGovernment service delivery so no citizen is left behind.

“Government agencies are challenged with legacy applications, budget constraints, multiple independent solution providers and a growing and dynamic threat landscape,” said Markey. “Yet those that make forward-thinking investments now in intuitive end-user experiences will be more successful in providing positive outcomes for their citizens for generations to come.”

The G2C Interactions Survey outlines the biggest areas government leaders can address in order to provide consumers with an improved experience and overcome these challenges. To learn more about the survey results, read our blog: https://www.entrust.com/blog/2023/06/governments-and-citizens-want-simple-smooth-and-secure-interactions.

Entrust enables trusted citizen identities for eGov service enablement and delivery. Entrust enables government departments and agencies to seamlessly and securely enroll and onboard citizens, issue and verify citizen credentials, and accelerate delivery of citizen services. This results in improved citizen experience and engagement, better service delivery, decreased benefits fraud, strengthened borders, and improved cyber risk posture. To learn more visit https://www.entrust.com/solutions/secure-digital-citizen-interactions.

About Entrust

Entrust keeps the world moving safely by enabling trusted identities, payments, and data. We offer an unmatched breadth of solutions that are critical to enabling trust for multi-cloud deployments, mobile identities, hybrid work, machine identity, electronic signatures, encryption and more. With more than 2,800 colleagues, a network of global partners, and customers in over 150 countries, it’s no wonder the world’s most entrusted organizations trust us. For more information, visit www.entrust.com.