Almost a third (29%) of the Lithuanian population used electronic signature at the end of 2021, and the use of such tool has nearly fivefold increase in the last seven years, shows the latest survey of the Communications Regulatory Authority of the Republic of Lithuania (RRT). However, according to the internal data of SK ID Solutions, the number of unique Smart-ID and Mobile-ID users reached nearly 1.4 million last year, accounting for roughly 60% of all adults in Lithuania. Viktoras Kamarevcevas, SK ID Solutions Country Manager in Lithuania, notes that such a disparity in data means the country’s population is still unable to distinguish which types of electronic authentication tools are used.

“Despite the growing demand for secure methods of personal authentication, residents frequently do not know whether they use a qualified or a simple electronic signature. It is, therefore, particularly important to educate the public. Probably the easiest way to understand when electronic signature is used is when a person enters a PIN2 with their own signature means – be it a Smart-ID, Mobile-ID or something else. One such example could be financial transaction confirmation in an internet bank,” says Viktoras Kamarevcevas, SK ID Solutions Country Manager in Lithuania.

According to RRT data, even though the number of qualified electronic signature certificates issued to Lithuanian residents increased by a quarter last year, only 14% of those who used a qualified electronic signature signed with Mobile-ID. This is 3.5 times lower than the figure in 2020, when it was 48%, and the number of Mobile-ID users increased from 60,000 in 2020 to 382 700 last year. According to Viktoras Kamarevcevas, this only confirms that residents frequently do not understand the tools they use.

“With the rapid growth of e-commerce and the fact that more and more electronic services are shifting to the Internet, we see the need of the population to use secure and convenient electronic signing tools. The growth is also determined by the fact that people do not need additional physical media to confirm transactions or sign the necessary documents with a Smart-ID or Mobile-ID,” said Kamarevcevas.

RRT report, which was published at the beginning of May 2022, reveals more about the popularity of electronic signatures and other trust services in Lithuania. The number of qualified electronic signature certificates issued and valid for the population of Lithuania increased by 26.7% in 2021: at the end of 2020, 2 122 822 certificates were valid, compared to 2 689 495 in 2021. As in previous years, the number of electronic signature users (when certificates are issued with Mobile-ID or Smart-ID applications) grew the fastest, increasing by nearly 41% throughout 2021.

The RRT survey also shows that 76.5% of all qualified electronic signature certificates issued to Lithuanians or 99.7% of certificates intended for signing with mobile devices are issued by SK ID Solutions.

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