New Beijing ID cards to carry biometric data

Residents in Beijing will now submit fingerprints when applying for new identity cards, Beijing police have said.

According to a report in China Daily, a pilot program regarding the new fingerprint system has been in place since the beginning of this year in both Yanshan and Yizhuang economic development zones and is planned to be expanded to the remainder of the city this year.

According to the report, fingerprint data will be stored in a database only accessible to police, and a numerical representation of cardholder fingerprints will be stored on a secure chip embedded in the cards themselves.

Reported in BiometricUpdate.com, China initiated an ePassport program last year. 

As of yet, it is unclear how these new cards are being manufactured, or to which company this contract has been awarded.

National ID card programs are definitely on the rise and many countries are implementing similar programs or are looking to do so.

Reported previously in BiometricUpdate.com, American Senators John McCain and Chuck Schumer in a recent interview spoke about their framework for immigration reform which they said could require biometric information to check employment status, leading many to suggest social security cards could soon come with biometrics.

A recent Biometric Research Note suggests that the emergence of national eID technologies are placing pressures upon national governments to migrate new credential standards in the interest of enhanced security and systemic processes are needed to implement these programs effectively.

Article Topics

biometric cards  |  civil ID  |  fingerprint biometrics