On May 29, a professional discussion took place between Oleksandr Kholod, Chairman of the Consumer Credit Market Association and Director of ShvidkoGroshi, and Oleksii Vovk, a representative of the Diya services implementation team.
The interview focused on the integration of non-bank financial institutions with government registries through Diya services, its initial practical results, and future directions for the development of digital interaction between the government, the financial market, and citizens.
From Discussion to Practical Implementation
Just six months ago, non-bank financial institutions’ access to Diya’s services was discussed as a pressing but complex issue. Today, this process has moved into the practical phase.
According to Oleksandr Kholod, the non-bank lending market has undergone significant work on compliance, audits, authorization, configuration, and technical integration.
“A revolution has taken place in the non-bank financial lending market: non-bank companies have gained access to government services through the Diya app. It was a major and lengthy effort involving compliance, audits, and authorization,” noted Oleksandr Kholod.
Oleksiy Vovk, a representative of the Diya team, confirmed that the integration is already in the operational phase.“We now have five companies that are fully integrated and working with real users, and 17 companies are currently being tested,” he said.
This means that the market has moved from the negotiation and preparation phase to the actual use of government digital services in customer identification, verification, and assessment processes.
New documents for the financial market
One of the key outcomes of the discussion was the confirmation of an expanded list of documents that could be useful for financial institutions.
Oleksiy Vovk reported that OK certificates can already be tested and called them an important document for financial organizations when assessing clients seeking financial services.
Specifically, this refers to OK-5 and OK-7 certificates from the Pension Fund registry, as well as an income certificate from the tax registry.
“When it comes to documents containing financial information, there are currently two: the income certificate from the tax registry and the OK-5 and OK-7 certificates from the Pension Fund registry,” explained Oleksiy Vovk.
He also pointed out an important technical difference: OK reports are provided in real time—that is, virtually instantly—while an income report can take up to 10 minutes to generate.
This has practical significance for financial institutions. The lending process must be structured in such a way as not to create unnecessary barriers for the customer, while at the same time ensuring a high-quality assessment of income and creditworthiness.
Responsible lending starts with data quality
During the interview, particular emphasis was placed on the fact that access to government data is not merely a technological convenience. It is an element of responsible lending.
For the consumer lending market, high-quality customer verification is the foundation for reducing fraud, accurately assessing creditworthiness, and preventing excessive debt burdens.
Oleksandr Kholod emphasized that access to such data is particularly important for non-bank financial institutions, as banks traditionally have a broader range of tools for verifying customers.
“Loans are being issued for longer terms and in larger amounts, which requires a more in-depth analysis of customers’ income. Non-bank financial institutions do not have the same access as banks, so this is important,” he noted.
In fact, integration with Diya creates a more level playing field for licensed financial market participants and allows for improved quality of internal KYC, AML, and scoring procedures.
Diya.Signature: A Balance Between Security and Convenience
A separate segment of the interview was dedicated to Diya.Signature. After the launch of the new iteration of the signature creation process, the procedure became more secure but more complicated for the user, as it requires the use of a document with an NFC module.
Oleksiy Vovk explained that this decision was driven by the growing risks associated with the development of artificial intelligence and deepfake technologies.
“With the development of artificial intelligence, it is not worth relying solely on photo verification,” he noted.
According to him, the new model has two sides: creating a signature has become less convenient, but its subsequent use is simpler and safer. Once created, Diya.Signature can be used on other platforms without repeated photo verification, simply by entering a code.
For the financial market, this means the need to collaborate on the user experience. Companies must adapt their own interfaces, explain to customers the benefits of creating a Diya.Signature in advance, and help foster a new digital habit.
Oleksandr Kholod emphasized that security is a top priority, especially given the growing cyber risks.
“On the one hand, this is good news, because since the launch of Diia.Sign, the number of cyber fraud cases has dropped significantly. On the other hand, we see that we still have work to do,” he noted.
Veteran Status and Social Responsibility
Special attention was given to the issue of protected categories of citizens, particularly veterans and military personnel.
A representative from Diya reported that the veteran ID has already been digitized and is available in the app. This document can be shared via the sharing mechanism along with other documents.
“There are already tools that allow us to determine whether a client is a veteran. This document has been digitized; it is available in the Diia app, and veterans can share it just like an ID,” noted Oleksii Vovk.
At the same time, the status of active-duty military personnel or other sensitive legal statuses requires separate legal regulation. The system can quickly implement new documents or scenarios, but only within the limits of the rules established by the state.
This section highlights an important distinction between technological capability and the legal framework: digital services can significantly simplify the application of benefits, but the transfer of relevant data must be regulated by law.
Marketplace and New Opportunities for the Market
The conversation also touched on the prospects for developing a marketplace within Diya and Diya.Business.
Oleksiy Vovk noted that Diya can already be considered a super-app with over 24 million users. In the future, this could create an opportunity for businesses to be represented directly within Diya’s digital ecosystem.
“Dii can already be considered a super-app: we have over 24 million users. We understand that in the future, we need to give businesses the opportunity to be inside the app and sell their services,” he said.
For the non-bank financial market, this opens up a strategic opportunity: Diya could serve not only as a channel for obtaining documents but also as a potential gateway to financial services.
At the same time, such a development requires the market to be well-prepared: high standards of cybersecurity, compliance, reputational resilience, and clear admission rules.
European Digital Wallet and Signature for Business
The final segment of the interview focused on European integration and future digital services.
Oleksii Vovk discussed the prospect of launching a European digital wallet, which will allow Ukrainian citizens to use digital documents and signatures abroad.
The Diia team is also working on a digital signature for businesses, which could become an important tool for legal entities and company officials.
“We already have 24 million users, 30,000 partners, and 33 document types. We’re really just getting started. We haven’t yet expanded our services to legal entities. We’re working on launching a digital signature solution for businesses,” said Oleksiy Vovk.
For the financial sector, this could open up new possibilities: digital services for sole proprietors, legal entities, and small and medium-sized businesses; document signing by officials; and the acceleration of corporate financial processes.
Conclusion
The interview showed that the integration of non-bank financial institutions with Diya has entered the practical phase.
This is no longer just an idea or a pilot project. There are participating companies, test partners, new documents, working groups, and a clear roadmap for future development.
For the market, this means a new level of data quality, security, responsible lending, and customer interaction.
For the government, it is an example of how digital infrastructure can increase transparency in the financial sector.
For consumers, it means faster, safer, and more understandable financial services.
The immediate practical priorities remain scaling up the connection of non-financial institutions (NFIs), testing OK-5/OK-7 certificates, continuing work on Diya.Signature, generating demand for specific liveness detection services, developing the marketplace, and establishing legal regulations for access to special citizen statuses.
The main conclusion of this conversation is simple: Diya is gradually becoming not just a digital document application, but a full-fledged trust infrastructure for the financial market.
