In brief
- MATTR, the company behind My Vaccine Pass, is back – this time powering the new NZ Verify digital ID app.
- The app was launched in May 2025 by the Department of Internal Affairs, but MATTR isn’t mentioned in any official announcements.
- The only reference to MATTR appears in the app’s fine print as the licensor of core technology.
- Ministers say the current function of NZ Verify is just the start.
- The lack of transparency is unusual given MATTR’s past prominence and the stakes of digital identity infrastructure.
COVID era ‘trust tech’ firm reemerges as the government’s silent partner
Auckland-based ‘trust tech’ firm MATTR – best known for building the My Vaccine Pass and helping deliver the most far-reaching access restrictions in New Zealand history – has quietly returned via a new government-backed digital ID project.
This time, the company is uncredited in official materials, despite powering what may become the backbone of New Zealand’s future identity infrastructure – now overseen by the Department of Internal Affairs, and echoing the very “two-tier society” once outlined by Jacinda Ardern.
Many would – and arguably should – take interest in the company’s involvement. But MATTR’s name is entirely absent from government press materials this time around.
This doesn’t imply anything sinister. But for a company helping build national identity infrastructure – and one that previously held the keys to everyday access during COVID – that level of invisibility is a story in itself.
Ministers are promoting a new digital ID app publicly
Launched in May 2025 by the Department of Internal Affairs, the NZ Verify app (Whakatūturu) was announced by Ministers Judith Collins and Louise Upston. The app allows businesses to scan international driver’s licences and verify age or identity using secure QR codes – echoing the vaccine pass approach.
The NZ Verify app simply verifies age or ID for tourists – for now. But the government calls it a “step towards a modern digital identity system.”
There’s virtually no way to identify who built this national ID infrastructure. No mention in press releases, ministerial speeches, or official documentation. The only instance that the company is mentioned is deep in the fine print of the End User Licence Agreement (EULA), on the app itself, under ‘Intellectual Property Rights.’
Ministers are already signaling what’s next. “International drivers’ licences are just the beginning, and additional credentials will be supported by NZ Verify in the future,” said Collins. Once adopted, that infrastructure could be extended to social media, alcohol sales, and public services.
MATTR is the only company mentioned anywhere in the terms of use, which may reflect the government’s exclusive dependence on a single company for a national digital infrastructure, despite no public discussion of that relationship.
Unusual omission
This seems unusual considering MATTR’s central role in building the My Vaccine Pass system was widely acknowledged during the COVID pandemic. There were public statements, media coverage, and clear attribution by government agencies. That transparency is absent in 2025 with NZ Verify.
This is also unusual given even minor infrastructure upgrades often cite named contractors or tech partners in Beehive.govt.nz releases. And it’s not as if MATTR is some no-name supplier—it’s a globally active, New Zealand success story that governments were once proud to promote. So why the sudden silence?
From QR codes to identity infrastructure
MATTR is a subsidiary of Spark New Zealand, established in 2019. Their technology enables cryptographic verification without data storage, allowing users to selectively disclose only the necessary information. For example, proving legal age without revealing a full birth date.
This quiet continuity between the My Vaccine Pass and NZ Verify raises questions about transparency, as well as the future scope and control of digital identity in New Zealand.
Coming up, we’ll examine how the trust framework is being expanded, who’s shaping it, and what it might mean for the public.
