Starting point and challenge
Almost half a million people in Switzerland have a GA travelcard for the SBB. People who live with them in the same household are entitled to a reduced-price GA travelcard (GA Duo). The discount is substantial: CHF 2,000 for a 1st class GA travelcard and over CHF 1,000 for a 2nd class GA travelcard. To apply for the Duo GA travelcard, an order form must be completed and confirmation of residence must be provided. Today, this confirmation must be collected in paper form from the municipality and submitted at a staffed counter or at the Contact Center Brig - a time-consuming and manual process for all SBB customers, but also for the SBB employees themselves: the documents must now be checked manually. Overall, the process takes several days and has to be repeated every year.
PoC setup and how our solution works
The Procivis software was used to test an end-to-end digital process for providing confirmation of residence. The confirmation - based on the apartment number in the residents' register - is issued by the municipality as a Verifiable Credential (VC). The SBB customer saves the verification in their Procivis smartphone wallet. When ordering a GA Travelcard Duo, they can share this credential with SBB to prove their entitlement to a reduced-price GA Travelcard. The check is automated and no personnel costs are incurred on the part of SBB. The VC confirmation of residence remains valid as long as the customer's address does not change and is verified once a year. The elimination of personnel costs also means that the customer does not have to pay a repeat issuing fee.
Result and outlook
The use of verifiable credentials makes it possible to design an end-to-end digital process for applying for a GA duo. The authenticity and validity of the credential can be reliably checked at any time. Using the Procivis software saves time and costs on both sides - for SBB and for customers.
"In this pilot project, these confirmations are issued as digital credentials and can be checked for authenticity and validity digitally and securely via the SSI network in compliance with data protection regulations. This project helps us to gain practical experience at an early stage. In this way, we can also recognize obstacles in good time as they may arise in everyday life."
Michael Gerber, Senior System Architect at SBB
