Do you have an ID card? Did you know that banks will soon be able to compare the photo on your ID with the one in the state registry? The president has signed a law that makes this possible! Unfortunately, we still have to wait for the regulations to fully take effect, but this is great news nonetheless.

Last week, the President signed an amendment to the act on the computerization of entities performing public tasks. It may sound complicated, but it's actually a major step in the fight against identity theft. Banks have long awaited this solution, which is intended to make life more difficult for fraudsters using fake documents, or so-called "dowodami collectorkami."

How will this work?

Banks and other institutions verifying your ID card will have access to a photo from the National Identity Card Register (RDO). The process will be two-step. First, the bank will verify the data from the document, and only after it has been successfully verified will it be granted access to the photo from the RDO. If the data does not match, the bank will be informed which data is incorrect or that the document has been invalidated, but in such cases, the photo will no longer be available for verification.

Who will have access to the photos?

Not only banks will have access to RDO photos. The list also includes:
- telecommunications service providers,
- payment service providers,
- credit unions,
- qualified trust service providers,
- lenders,
- entities issuing electronic identification means,
- investment firms and investment fund companies.

What photos will be shared?

The bill moved through the legislative process remarkably quickly – work began in April and reached the President's desk by the end of July. Not all provisions will take effect immediately. Although the bill will generally take effect 14 days after its publication, access to RDO images will be granted until June 30, 2026. This is likely how long it will take for the Ministry of Digital Affairs to prepare the entire service from a technical perspective.

Source: niebezpiecznik.pl

The Minister of Digital Affairs will only release a photo from your most recent, valid ID card. Therefore, it will be impossible for anyone to access a photo from an old document that has expired.

Is that all or is there something more?

Access to photos isn't the only change introduced by this law. It will also simplify the rules for sharing data from various state registers (such as CEPiK, the PESEL register, and the passport register). Banks will also be able to obtain data on the series, number, and expiration date of their customers' ID cards for a fee, which will help them verify and update this information.