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About Us

About tScheme

tScheme serves organisations in the Trust-Service Provider sector, providing Approval for the services they supply to consumers and organisations.

Formed in 2000, tScheme is a not-for-profit organisation that aims to improve levels of trust in digital economies. We provide an independent means of establishing and testing the trust of services to recognised standards. tScheme’s growth reflects the rapid growth of online services, particularly those which involve a need for trusted services.

What we do

We support organisations who wish to provide trusted digital services to their customers. We provide a central point for information on best practice, publishing a range of clearly-defined Profiles and Assessment criteria. Anyone can benchmark their own service against our Profiles to obtain authorisation for their Trust Scheme Frameworks and services delivered under them.

Assessing your trust service

Assessments and audits are carried out by tScheme-recognised Assessors. Recognition is based upon the relevant accreditation by UKAS – the UK's National Accreditation Body responsible for determining the technical competence and integrity of organisations and their services. Both operate independently from tScheme.

Once your scheme has been Assessed and a report issued by the Assessor recommending Approval, we assess the report as being appropriate for that Service type. If it’s satisfactory, we issue a Grant of Approval for your Service.

Our members

Our membership is drawn from the public, private and third sectors. They join because they believe in the independent assessment of trust services used in the digital economy. There are currently two categories of membership: Government members and non-Government members.

Market-led

A number of factors have shaped our development and the services we offer. We keep a close watch on the needs of the market, regulatory frameworks, trends and other factors to ensure our services maintain their relevance and currency. With the implementation of new technologies in the areas of Artificial Intelligence (AI), Digital Identity and Cyber Security (AI) together with the increased awareness of Privacy and Trust by both the consumer and commerce, it is extremely important that Trust Service Providers obtain independent certification. tScheme approved certification is a sign that an organisation’s Trust Service meets exacting standards and can be relied upon by users and operators.

Digital identity, secure data sharing and security are the foundations of the modern economy and society. Interoperability between different nations, different schemes and frameworks is the cornerstone of making a secure, safe and trustworthy world.

tScheme, as an advocate for ensuring trust is independently assured and portable, believes we must maximise the potential for participation.  Given the recent events globally it has never been more important for the user to have safe, secure access to services and confidence in the data sharing needed to enable seamless integration of services in a trustworthy manner. 

What is Artificial Intelligence (AI)
Refers to the theory and development of computer systems able to perform tasks normally requiring human intelligence, such as visual perception, speech recognition, decision-making, and translation between languages.

What is a Digital Identity
A digital identity is a collection of features and characteristics associated with a uniquely identifiable individual — stored and authenticated in the digital sphere — and used for transactions, interactions, and representations online.

What is Cyber Security
Cyber security refers to the body of technologies, processes, and practices designed to protect networks, devices, programs, and data from attack, damage, or unauthorized access.

What does Online Trust mean
The user has a confident expectation that their vulnerabilities will not be exploited during an online experience.

Membership

Members of tScheme contribute to the development of tScheme.

There is an annual membership fee of £1,000 for each non-Government member organisation and £5,000 for Government member organisations. However, this fee can be deducted from the cost of any applicable tScheme Approval fees.

The tScheme trust Mark

Trust scheme providers who have been approved by tScheme can use the tScheme Mark to indicate the trustworthiness of the processes used to deliver their Approved Service.

More about the tScheme trust Mark.

Who we work with

tScheme works with a number of different organisations:

  • Scheme (trust framework) Authorities – organisations who want to develop a specific set of Profiles, or add an auditable specification to an existing Profile to support one or more trust schemes they wish to operate. More.
  • Organisations who seek Approval to operate under one or more schemes – commercial organisations. More.
  • Independent assessors – who audit and inspect applicants under one or more schemes. Our recognised Assessors have been accredited by UKAS. More.
  • tScheme members – organisations who deliver trust-based services and support tScheme as the UK’s independent Profiles and Approvals body. Members can operate schemes and Services themselves – they can also become applicants for Approval. More.
  • Independent domain experts – invited members of our committees who look at our Profiles, policy and processes to ensure they remain relevant, stable and trustworthy.

tScheme structure

tScheme is a registered UK company limited by guarantee. Our accounts are published at Companies House. We are funded through Aproval, renewal and membership fees, and fully recognised by the UK government, but operated independently. tScheme is registered under the Data Protection Act.

Our members

We’re a member-led not-for-profit organisation.

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Why tScheme approval?

It’s the mark which says your service meets the highest standards of trust.

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Getting tScheme approval

Approval usually takes at least three months, but it can be quicker.

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