Keep issuing authority clear
Start with the public institution responsible for the source record. Define who can issue a credential, change its status and recover access.
The programme names the authority behind each credential.
Build a digital identity service around the institutions that issue credentials and the people who use them. Start with one public service, define what it needs to verify, and test the complete citizen journey.
Barbados announced and demonstrated TridentGold in Bridgetown on 29 May 2026. The announcement sets out the programme and its intended public services.
Read the programme announcementA useful pilot makes the issuer, citizen and receiving service part of the same design. Each has a distinct responsibility and a result to verify.
Start with the public institution responsible for the source record. Define who can issue a credential, change its status and recover access.
The programme names the authority behind each credential.
Map the information held by the issuer, the citizen and the receiving service. Specify which claims the service needs and what each institution retains.
Disclosure and retention are explicit design decisions.
Choose the credential and presentation formats with the institutions that will accept them. Test the flow against their systems, including recovery and assisted access.
Acceptance is demonstrated with the receiving service.
TridentArrow is the travel-credential service described in the TridentGold programme.Explore the planned journey from a national credential to a border check.
Proposed corridor: agree on accepted credentials and verification responsibilities in each country.
The programme explores deriving a travel credential from an existing national identity. The pilot needs to establish how it is issued, held and accepted by the receiving authority.
Evaluate the presentation format, disclosed information and recovery journey with the border operators who will use them. A travel arrangement and a digital credential deployment require separate acceptance.
The published announcement describes a demonstration and planned milestones. Pilot scope and acceptance belong to the participating institutions.
Issue
Identify the source credential and the institution authorized to issue it.
Hold
Design how the citizen accesses the credential and recovers from a lost device.
Present
Agree on the claims a receiving authority needs and how it verifies them.
Evaluate
Test the complete journey with the institutions and people who will use it.
Select a credential format and presentation protocol for the specific service. Then verify the complete exchange with its operators, including expiry, status changes and failure handling.
Credential format
Name the issuer, signature format, validity period and status mechanism that the receiving service accepts.
Presentation protocol
Specify the requested claims, holder interaction and online or in-person verification flow.
Interoperability evidence
Test the selected profile against each participating system and record the supported combinations.
Operating responsibilities
Assign issuance, key management, retention, recovery and incident response to named institutions.
Start with a frequent public-service task. Define its acceptance criteria and an assisted path before extending the approach to another service.
Evaluate a travel-credential presentation with the authorities responsible for departure and entry.
Plan how a citizen authenticates to the revenue service and supplies the information it requires.
Define the identity, licence-status and payment checks needed to complete a renewal.
Agree on eligibility evidence and an assisted route for people who need help.
Specify how an employer or another institution checks the issuer and validity of a certificate.
Establish which identity evidence the receiving bank accepts and which additional checks it performs.
Bring the service owner, the identity supplier and the receiving institution into one scoping conversation. Agree on the citizen journey, the evidence required and the responsibilities for a pilot.
Holonym Foundation, a Delaware public benefit corporation