The bank still has a dependence on trusted authorities when it assumes your ID documents are legit. Rather than asking banks to confirm your identity for other accounts, I think we should ask governments to extend their practice of providing physical ID documents to providing online identification services. States have worked with Apple on "digital drivers licenses" that live on your phone, but the idea is still that you show them to someone in meatspace. Why shouldn't they provide an online service?
Of course, all this depends on the assumption that your ID should be who you are IRL, rather than the model where we can all make up several independent pseudonyms for different purposes.
> The bank still has a dependence on trusted authorities when it assumes your ID documents are legit. Rather than asking banks to confirm your identity for other accounts, I think we should ask governments to extend their practice of providing physical ID documents to providing online identification services.
Sure, that would work too. Or even do both. The point is to have some place I can go in person to have my identity verified for a third party such as an email provider or domain registrar. Then set up the email or registrar accounts so that account recovery requires such a verification.
I wouldn't have to tie everything back to the in person verification. Just things that I want to be sure I can recover if I lose them via accident or hacking.
Of course, all this depends on the assumption that your ID should be who you are IRL, rather than the model where we can all make up several independent pseudonyms for different purposes.